The Plastic Shift: Learning from Young Solutioneers

Community ActionReuse 101
Written By Brooking Gatewood

Episode #35

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Ayleen Farnood and Madhav Malhotra are two high school students in Toronto, Canada, who were concerned by the plastic pollution crisis and curious to learn how to help. Their shared interest sparked a deep learning journey, which gave birth to the Plastic Shift  an organization already getting a lot of public attention. The pair has conducted extensive interviews and research to learn from experts and synthesize their discoveries into resources which include a podcast, blogs, and a stellar website: theplasticshift.com. In this episode we discuss some of their more interesting discoveries, including the promise of impact investing, extended producer responsibility, circular economy, and how to keep the work fun. 

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Two Toronto high school students work to uncover plastic pollution myths and find systemic solutions built to last.

Brooking Gatewood

Brooking hosts Upstream’s The Indisposable Podcast and guides our team on virtual collaboration and culture-building. She has worked with Break Free From Plastic US since 2016 as a facilitator and strategist, and has spent much of the last decade supporting collaborative leadership for many ambitious change efforts - from saving monarch butterflies to curbing diabetes. In her spare time, Brooking can be found writing and performing poetry, or hosting community-connection events in her local LA neighborhood.

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