WEBVTT 00:00:04.679 --> 00:00:08.000 This is Climate to Action, a CSUSM student podcast. 00:00:08.339 --> 00:00:11.099 We amplify voices, explore solutions to the climate 00:00:11.099 --> 00:00:13.919 crisis, and confront climate injustices for all 00:00:13.919 --> 00:00:16.899 living things. I'm your host, Molly Sarawatari. 00:00:17.219 --> 00:00:19.839 Here at C2A, we are committed to providing a 00:00:19.839 --> 00:00:22.100 variety of perspectives for addressing the climate 00:00:22.100 --> 00:00:24.859 crisis in every episode. Stay tuned for the end 00:00:24.859 --> 00:00:27.039 of the episode where we provide ways you can 00:00:27.039 --> 00:00:29.760 take action for yourself. First, we'd like to 00:00:29.760 --> 00:00:31.559 acknowledge that our recording studio is on the 00:00:31.559 --> 00:00:34.359 traditional territory of the Luceño -Payacuichan 00:00:34.359 --> 00:00:37.439 people. CSUSM and its surrounding areas are still 00:00:37.439 --> 00:00:40.159 home to six federally recognized bands of the 00:00:40.159 --> 00:00:43.399 La Jolla, Pala, Palma, Pechanga, Rincon, and 00:00:43.399 --> 00:00:46.640 Saboba Luceño -Payacuichan people. This land 00:00:46.640 --> 00:00:49.079 is also a shared space among the Copeño, Kumeyaay, 00:00:49.159 --> 00:00:51.759 and Ipai peoples. Climate to Action is starting 00:00:51.759 --> 00:00:54.479 a series of conversations featuring CSUSM students 00:00:54.479 --> 00:00:57.710 who are taking climate action. For today's episode, 00:00:57.850 --> 00:00:59.929 we are thrilled to introduce a special guest, 00:01:00.369 --> 00:01:03.609 Tyler Weinstock. Tyler is an environmental studies 00:01:03.609 --> 00:01:06.010 major and an intern at Plastic Beach, a local 00:01:06.010 --> 00:01:08.530 nonprofit here in North County. Tyler, why don't 00:01:08.530 --> 00:01:09.950 you tell me a little bit more about yourself? 00:01:10.329 --> 00:01:13.129 Hello. Thank you for having me. This is so cool. 00:01:13.909 --> 00:01:15.849 It's actually really cool to be a student here 00:01:15.849 --> 00:01:18.989 and see the creation of a podcast room. That's 00:01:18.989 --> 00:01:22.349 really cool. I'm Tyler. I'm an ENVS student here. 00:01:22.670 --> 00:01:26.640 I'm a senior. I graduate. Hopefully this semester. 00:01:26.840 --> 00:01:32.680 Me too. Okay. And yeah, last semester to two 00:01:32.680 --> 00:01:36.780 semesters ago, I went on a field trip to Plastic 00:01:36.780 --> 00:01:39.439 Beach, learned all about it, and I wanted to 00:01:39.439 --> 00:01:43.060 spread the word. Fire. All right. Well, for our 00:01:43.060 --> 00:01:44.980 listeners who maybe aren't so familiar, since 00:01:44.980 --> 00:01:47.959 this podcast is for anyone and everyone, plastics 00:01:47.959 --> 00:01:50.420 are a major contributor to climate change since 00:01:50.420 --> 00:01:53.159 they are primarily from fossil fuels. These fossil 00:01:53.159 --> 00:01:55.620 fuels release greenhouse gases during their extraction, 00:01:55.799 --> 00:01:58.180 production, and disposal, pretty much their beginning, 00:01:58.280 --> 00:02:00.920 middle, and end. The increasing production of 00:02:00.920 --> 00:02:04.620 plastics is expected to triple by 2060, reminding 00:02:04.620 --> 00:02:08.120 us how much plastic affects our world. My first 00:02:08.120 --> 00:02:10.139 question, for anyone who might not be familiar, 00:02:10.759 --> 00:02:12.939 For you, Tyler, can you explain what Plastic 00:02:12.939 --> 00:02:15.879 Beach is? I know it's an organization, but what 00:02:15.879 --> 00:02:18.460 is their overall mission? What do they stand 00:02:18.460 --> 00:02:21.680 for? And what problem is Plastic Beach really 00:02:21.680 --> 00:02:23.780 trying to solve, and why does it matter right 00:02:23.780 --> 00:02:27.879 now? Okay, so yeah, Plastic Beach is a nonprofit 00:02:27.879 --> 00:02:30.939 organization that takes waste at a residential 00:02:30.939 --> 00:02:34.319 level and at a corporate level from local organizations. 00:02:35.469 --> 00:02:39.250 And they collect the thin film plastic, so low 00:02:39.250 --> 00:02:41.629 -density and high -density polyethylene plastics, 00:02:41.990 --> 00:02:45.069 twos and fours, really. And they take it back 00:02:45.069 --> 00:02:48.710 to their warehouse. They bale it. A bale is basically 00:02:48.710 --> 00:02:51.590 just compressing it into a big square. And then 00:02:51.590 --> 00:02:56.229 they ship that into the Arizona organization 00:02:56.229 --> 00:02:59.990 called Trex. That's one of them that uses that 00:02:59.990 --> 00:03:03.949 plastic to create outside decking for homes. 00:03:04.490 --> 00:03:07.930 So it's like a wood compost slash plastic compost 00:03:07.930 --> 00:03:11.770 composite. Oh, that's really cool. And then you 00:03:11.770 --> 00:03:14.069 said plastic two and four. Maybe some of our 00:03:14.069 --> 00:03:16.250 listeners aren't quite sure like what that is 00:03:16.250 --> 00:03:18.189 because different plastics are different, you 00:03:18.189 --> 00:03:20.930 know. Yeah. Is there what's a very common tool 00:03:20.930 --> 00:03:24.250 for level plastic? Yeah. So like saran wrap or 00:03:24.250 --> 00:03:30.520 Amazon packaging or the. Like dry cleaner plastics 00:03:30.520 --> 00:03:32.840 that hang over your clothes, like anything that's 00:03:32.840 --> 00:03:35.680 that's stretchy and that you can push your thumb 00:03:35.680 --> 00:03:37.960 in and see a little indent. So like our soft 00:03:37.960 --> 00:03:41.020 plastics. Yeah. Awesome. Well, one of the things 00:03:41.020 --> 00:03:42.879 I found really interesting when I was researching 00:03:42.879 --> 00:03:45.419 Plastic Beach is how it started. Can you talk 00:03:45.419 --> 00:03:47.080 a little bit about Matthew, the man who started 00:03:47.080 --> 00:03:49.599 Plastic Beach and what inspired him to create 00:03:49.599 --> 00:03:52.919 it? Matthew is such a guy. So he actually is 00:03:52.919 --> 00:03:56.419 originally from the UK. Really? Yeah. I love 00:03:56.419 --> 00:04:00.060 his accent. But what he was before this was actually 00:04:00.060 --> 00:04:02.639 a paramedic. And he used to work on ambulances. 00:04:02.639 --> 00:04:05.560 And he saw that there was just a huge issue with 00:04:05.560 --> 00:04:10.389 plastic. He got to a point in his career where 00:04:10.389 --> 00:04:12.530 he stopped working as a paramedic and then he 00:04:12.530 --> 00:04:16.250 fully dived, like him and his wife, full head 00:04:16.250 --> 00:04:19.230 -on speared the Plastic Beach Initiative and 00:04:19.230 --> 00:04:23.129 created this great hyper -local program in San 00:04:23.129 --> 00:04:27.689 Diego to collect thin film plastic. Wow, that's 00:04:27.689 --> 00:04:30.230 pretty cool. Talking about career change. I know, 00:04:30.290 --> 00:04:34.810 it's a complete shift. So we cover Matthew. I 00:04:34.810 --> 00:04:35.990 kind of want to bring it back to you in your 00:04:35.990 --> 00:04:38.009 own experience. You talked about in the beginning 00:04:38.009 --> 00:04:41.089 of the podcast that you found Plastic Beach on 00:04:41.089 --> 00:04:44.509 a field trip and you just fell in love with it. 00:04:44.569 --> 00:04:46.750 Was there something that necessarily drew you 00:04:46.750 --> 00:04:50.129 into it like that? You absolutely like like what 00:04:50.129 --> 00:04:52.610 was that like aha moment that, oh, my gosh, this 00:04:52.610 --> 00:04:55.810 is like I want to work here. And how did you 00:04:55.810 --> 00:04:57.610 get involved? A lot of students don't maybe know 00:04:57.610 --> 00:04:59.149 how to get involved with these kind of organizations. 00:05:00.120 --> 00:05:05.819 Yeah, I have been interested in environmental 00:05:05.819 --> 00:05:09.860 issues since high school, like sophomore year. 00:05:11.019 --> 00:05:14.060 From then, obviously, I went to college. But 00:05:14.060 --> 00:05:16.819 when I went to what it was, shout out Shannon 00:05:16.819 --> 00:05:19.860 Swanson, what it was. Yeah, she's literally the 00:05:19.860 --> 00:05:24.040 best. She took us to Plastic Beach and my entire 00:05:24.040 --> 00:05:26.819 time here at college, I've been wanting to find 00:05:26.819 --> 00:05:30.360 something that either an organization or a company 00:05:30.360 --> 00:05:32.720 or whatever it was that dealt with waste in a 00:05:32.720 --> 00:05:34.879 proper way. Because in my eyes, what I want to 00:05:34.879 --> 00:05:37.319 focus on in my career is waste, waste management. 00:05:37.699 --> 00:05:42.180 And when we went to Plastic Beach, I was so happy 00:05:42.180 --> 00:05:46.699 to see this, again, local organization that is 00:05:46.699 --> 00:05:50.490 dealing with waste in a very effective way. And 00:05:50.490 --> 00:05:55.029 in a way that is an easy way to do it if you 00:05:55.029 --> 00:05:57.170 actually wanted to do it. And I thought it was 00:05:57.170 --> 00:05:59.269 really cool. I mean, Matthew was great. His team 00:05:59.269 --> 00:06:02.449 is amazing. They take care of me. Shout out to 00:06:02.449 --> 00:06:05.269 you guys. But yeah, I think what really drew 00:06:05.269 --> 00:06:09.189 me in was the fact that it was a viable solution 00:06:09.189 --> 00:06:13.769 that can be done. It doesn't have to be like 00:06:13.769 --> 00:06:17.310 this one big company. It could be us at home 00:06:17.310 --> 00:06:20.660 dealing with. this waste on our own level so 00:06:20.660 --> 00:06:24.600 it's just very easy to attain that habit right 00:06:24.600 --> 00:06:26.879 did you expect it when you first went on those 00:06:26.879 --> 00:06:28.920 field trips and walked those doors did you expect 00:06:28.920 --> 00:06:31.120 it to be at this level of involvement now no 00:06:31.120 --> 00:06:33.160 of course not I was driving up I remember I was 00:06:33.160 --> 00:06:35.019 driving it's all the way I live in San Diego 00:06:35.019 --> 00:06:37.899 proper but it's all the way in Encinitas and 00:06:37.899 --> 00:06:40.899 I was driving up like any any field trip and 00:06:40.899 --> 00:06:43.000 I'm like yeah sure like another field right yeah 00:06:43.000 --> 00:06:46.379 um but then when I got there I was kind of taken 00:06:46.379 --> 00:06:48.449 back I was like okay this is actually I need 00:06:48.449 --> 00:06:49.870 to lock in and listen to what you're saying. 00:06:49.990 --> 00:06:53.670 And that five commute is rough. Yes. Rough. Yes. 00:06:53.709 --> 00:06:56.569 But hey, it was worth it. It was worth it. So 00:06:56.569 --> 00:06:59.529 from your perspective, how do you believe that 00:06:59.529 --> 00:07:01.769 Plastic Beach is different from other environmental 00:07:01.769 --> 00:07:04.750 or nonprofit or profit organizations that you've 00:07:04.750 --> 00:07:08.050 maybe heard about, especially like maybe some 00:07:08.050 --> 00:07:10.829 in San Diego as well? How does it differ? Obviously, 00:07:10.930 --> 00:07:15.230 Matthew's from the UK. That's pretty cool. How 00:07:15.230 --> 00:07:17.529 does it differ from these other organizations? 00:07:18.089 --> 00:07:22.889 Yeah, I think what is like the very big factor 00:07:22.889 --> 00:07:27.050 that sets them apart is that it's very accessible. 00:07:27.649 --> 00:07:30.569 It's very local and they're very transparent 00:07:30.569 --> 00:07:35.360 in. The way they operate and they are they if 00:07:35.360 --> 00:07:37.860 you go to plastic beach comm they have literally 00:07:37.860 --> 00:07:40.720 every single Partner that they're dealing with 00:07:40.720 --> 00:07:44.259 how they operate what they do in their system 00:07:44.259 --> 00:07:47.639 of operations it's I think what sets them apart 00:07:47.639 --> 00:07:51.519 is their clarity in their systems of operation 00:07:51.519 --> 00:07:56.519 and Their true desire for change in plastic Yeah. 00:07:56.620 --> 00:07:58.800 And that's something that I think a lot of people 00:07:58.800 --> 00:08:01.300 don't think about is change doesn't have to start 00:08:01.300 --> 00:08:04.060 at an international or even national level. It 00:08:04.060 --> 00:08:05.759 starts at a local level. Getting involved with 00:08:05.759 --> 00:08:08.019 these organizations like Plastic Beach can be 00:08:08.019 --> 00:08:09.639 your first step to combating climate change. 00:08:09.860 --> 00:08:12.560 And then soft plastics can't be recycled most 00:08:12.560 --> 00:08:14.839 of the time. So then you can actually take them 00:08:14.839 --> 00:08:17.319 to places like Plastic Beach where they get to 00:08:17.319 --> 00:08:19.019 go and they can be made, you said, for wood decks 00:08:19.019 --> 00:08:22.240 for houses. Yeah. That's so cool. Yeah, I think. 00:08:22.339 --> 00:08:25.910 Yeah. And I totally agree because they are. Like 00:08:25.910 --> 00:08:31.449 you just said, they are making a market for these 00:08:31.449 --> 00:08:34.690 plastics where there is no market. I mean, in 00:08:34.690 --> 00:08:37.570 America, there's, I believe, seven plastics, 00:08:37.690 --> 00:08:40.049 right? Like one to seven? I think so, yeah. But 00:08:40.049 --> 00:08:43.289 there's no true market for these plastics. So 00:08:43.289 --> 00:08:45.289 they end up in the landfills creating methane 00:08:45.289 --> 00:08:49.320 and the list goes on of the repercussions. What 00:08:49.320 --> 00:08:52.639 they're doing, being set apart, is actually creating 00:08:52.639 --> 00:08:55.320 a market for these plastics to be reused and 00:08:55.320 --> 00:08:57.860 recycled. Right. And that's great because Ziploc 00:08:57.860 --> 00:09:00.360 bags are soft plastic. And in the fall, they 00:09:00.360 --> 00:09:03.019 literally got recalled because if you don't keep 00:09:03.019 --> 00:09:05.299 them at a certain temperature, the chemicals 00:09:05.299 --> 00:09:07.960 leak into your food. So here's a better way to 00:09:07.960 --> 00:09:10.500 actually use these plastics for something good. 00:09:10.879 --> 00:09:14.240 Yeah. Anyway, so one thing I think that Plastic 00:09:14.240 --> 00:09:16.240 Beach does really well is connecting with students 00:09:16.240 --> 00:09:20.360 like yourself and having field trips. Dr. Swanson's 00:09:20.360 --> 00:09:23.019 class, shout her out. Can you talk about how 00:09:23.019 --> 00:09:25.759 Plastic Beach is integrated here at CCUSM and 00:09:25.759 --> 00:09:27.919 what does that relationship look like necessarily 00:09:27.919 --> 00:09:32.860 in practice? Yeah, I believe there was an intern 00:09:32.860 --> 00:09:36.500 before me either last year or the year before. 00:09:36.580 --> 00:09:38.919 I don't really know. And she used to do table 00:09:38.919 --> 00:09:42.789 talks. What that means for me is kind of the 00:09:42.789 --> 00:09:45.549 same thing. So he didn't really have a base of 00:09:45.549 --> 00:09:48.509 what the intern should do other than that last 00:09:48.509 --> 00:09:52.529 intern and the small things that she did or big. 00:09:52.629 --> 00:09:56.789 I don't actually know, but no disrespect. But 00:09:56.789 --> 00:10:01.169 what he wants from us is to just have student 00:10:01.169 --> 00:10:04.549 outreach. I mean. I went on that field trip in 00:10:04.549 --> 00:10:07.230 my junior year of studying environmental science. 00:10:07.309 --> 00:10:11.169 I went three years without knowing what is going 00:10:11.169 --> 00:10:14.210 on. And again, and this is in Encinitas, in my 00:10:14.210 --> 00:10:20.590 local area. So what we do is we take the either 00:10:20.590 --> 00:10:24.049 local offices, like there's only certain offices 00:10:24.049 --> 00:10:26.330 around the campus that take part in it just because 00:10:26.330 --> 00:10:28.950 it is so hard and we do have a budget at CSUSM. 00:10:29.769 --> 00:10:33.029 But it's taken from school offices. It's taken 00:10:33.029 --> 00:10:36.450 from the cafeteria. And there's drop points. 00:10:36.549 --> 00:10:40.330 I believe there's one right by PSI. What's that? 00:10:40.840 --> 00:10:44.340 um parking garage ps1 ps1 it's right under there 00:10:44.340 --> 00:10:46.200 it's yellow bin you could see it i look at oh 00:10:46.200 --> 00:10:48.220 i know exactly what bins you're talking about 00:10:48.220 --> 00:10:49.960 when i worked with sustainability i would pull 00:10:49.960 --> 00:10:52.620 those bins yes and have to yes i know exactly 00:10:52.620 --> 00:10:55.559 what bins are talking yes so i think it's marissa 00:10:55.559 --> 00:10:58.039 who yeah who collects them and if it's not her 00:10:58.039 --> 00:11:00.580 then it's somebody usually like i was a zero 00:11:00.580 --> 00:11:02.879 waste student assistant yes before eb shout out 00:11:02.879 --> 00:11:06.179 eb love her that's my esa press but yeah those 00:11:06.179 --> 00:11:08.769 bins they usually collect them um But yeah, I 00:11:08.769 --> 00:11:13.190 know exactly. There's one behind by the dome 00:11:13.190 --> 00:11:15.409 where the student store is. There's one over 00:11:15.409 --> 00:11:17.850 there. Yeah. Yeah. I think so. I think there's 00:11:17.850 --> 00:11:22.350 three altogether. And I think collectively last 00:11:22.350 --> 00:11:25.450 year, I know that they produced like six hundred 00:11:25.450 --> 00:11:28.649 and eight pounds. Holy cow. Which I mean, again, 00:11:28.909 --> 00:11:31.320 this is. thin film plastic that weighs nothing 00:11:31.320 --> 00:11:34.779 so 600 pounds is crazy and that's just at one 00:11:34.779 --> 00:11:37.299 school yeah but yeah so it's just those bins 00:11:37.299 --> 00:11:41.279 uh collection and things like this getting on 00:11:41.279 --> 00:11:43.600 a podcast talking to just spreading the word 00:11:43.600 --> 00:11:47.019 of what he does absolutely and you talked about 00:11:47.019 --> 00:11:48.259 how you didn't learn about it till you were a 00:11:48.259 --> 00:11:50.840 junior i was an envs major now i'm just a sustainability 00:11:50.840 --> 00:11:54.080 minor and i just found out about it because of 00:11:54.080 --> 00:11:56.960 you as a senior like we've officially got like 00:11:57.360 --> 00:11:59.759 to unk status basically and we found out about 00:11:59.759 --> 00:12:04.620 it so like yeah we're old and you know here and 00:12:04.620 --> 00:12:07.740 yeah so that's really cool i plan on i mean i 00:12:07.740 --> 00:12:11.340 just i was talking to um the different professors 00:12:11.340 --> 00:12:17.080 in this envs major um i'm graduating so the internship 00:12:17.080 --> 00:12:20.320 space will be vacant so if anyone's listening 00:12:20.320 --> 00:12:22.919 that wants to be a part of this please do um 00:12:22.919 --> 00:12:24.740 sign up it's on the service learning database 00:12:24.740 --> 00:12:29.419 it's the most fun easy getting to know your students 00:12:29.419 --> 00:12:32.879 local students same internship same thing with 00:12:32.879 --> 00:12:36.039 the podcast I'm also graduating so if you want 00:12:36.039 --> 00:12:37.759 to be a podcaster and get to talk to cool people 00:12:37.759 --> 00:12:40.830 like Tyler Like, you know, hit up, hit me up, 00:12:40.830 --> 00:12:43.690 hit up the Climate to Action Instagram. Anyway, 00:12:43.750 --> 00:12:45.970 getting a little bit more back on track. So you 00:12:45.970 --> 00:12:47.629 talked about, you know, the field trip and everything. 00:12:47.970 --> 00:12:50.409 Did you notice any other students kind of going 00:12:50.409 --> 00:12:52.730 through that same aha moment that you have? Like, 00:12:52.750 --> 00:12:54.870 did you guys like talk about it? Anything like 00:12:54.870 --> 00:12:56.990 that? Did you talk to like, obviously, Dr. Swanson 00:12:56.990 --> 00:13:00.190 about it? For sure. I mean, there was a multitude 00:13:00.190 --> 00:13:03.450 of us that stayed after for I mean, I stayed 00:13:03.450 --> 00:13:05.750 for literally an hour just chatting with the 00:13:05.750 --> 00:13:09.440 lady who gave us a tour. I think one of the biggest 00:13:09.440 --> 00:13:12.440 reasons why there is an AHA is because it's a 00:13:12.440 --> 00:13:15.840 tactical experience that students can see that's 00:13:15.840 --> 00:13:20.159 being done. Because I think there is a sort of 00:13:20.159 --> 00:13:24.100 disconnect with education and actual grasping 00:13:24.100 --> 00:13:28.919 of things how you can use and where organizations 00:13:28.919 --> 00:13:35.120 work to the education. So it is really cool that 00:13:35.120 --> 00:13:38.759 we were able to go there and see that. I mean, 00:13:38.879 --> 00:13:41.669 like I said, I saw... bunch of students just 00:13:41.669 --> 00:13:44.909 sit there and be in awe that the fact that this 00:13:44.909 --> 00:13:47.210 is right here like literally in their backyard 00:13:47.210 --> 00:13:49.289 yeah pretty much for sure there's definitely 00:13:49.289 --> 00:13:51.350 a huge disconnect with education and firsthand 00:13:51.350 --> 00:13:53.289 experiences yes and that's what's so important 00:13:53.289 --> 00:13:55.649 about like podcasts like this or like people 00:13:55.649 --> 00:13:58.009 like you spitting the word about local organizations 00:13:58.009 --> 00:14:01.269 um and to look at more of a broader picture about 00:14:01.269 --> 00:14:04.090 like just people who maybe haven't had the opportunity 00:14:04.090 --> 00:14:06.929 to be an envs major or i know my initial thing 00:14:06.929 --> 00:14:08.850 was i took apes in high school and i was like 00:14:08.850 --> 00:14:11.629 oh my gosh I love the environment. I want to 00:14:11.629 --> 00:14:14.029 do something with it. So how do you think these 00:14:14.029 --> 00:14:16.590 organizations like Plastic Beach help create 00:14:16.590 --> 00:14:19.149 that stronger connection between nonprofits and 00:14:19.149 --> 00:14:21.590 students, especially students who maybe are ENBS 00:14:21.590 --> 00:14:25.690 majors? Yeah, I think it's just growth of community. 00:14:26.230 --> 00:14:32.769 I think it is a way to have outreach towards 00:14:32.769 --> 00:14:37.100 not only students, but even the community. Again, 00:14:37.100 --> 00:14:39.799 it's not only through universities. It's also 00:14:39.799 --> 00:14:43.220 through residents of San Diego. So I think things 00:14:43.220 --> 00:14:46.559 like this, I mean, this is mainly student listened 00:14:46.559 --> 00:14:49.299 to, but I don't know. They go to their parents' 00:14:49.620 --> 00:14:51.179 house. They say, hey, look at this cool little 00:14:51.179 --> 00:14:54.059 thing. We can sign up. It's a very small subscription. 00:14:54.320 --> 00:14:58.379 I think that it's just, again, it's very accessible. 00:14:58.890 --> 00:15:00.850 Exactly. Like, I think that's really cool because 00:15:00.850 --> 00:15:03.870 it's this certain kind of learning, especially 00:15:03.870 --> 00:15:05.289 in our older generations, like you said, going 00:15:05.289 --> 00:15:07.029 home, maybe telling their roommates or their 00:15:07.029 --> 00:15:09.570 parents, grandparents and these older generations 00:15:09.570 --> 00:15:12.789 who didn't have a lot of education on the environment. 00:15:12.870 --> 00:15:15.009 They had what the in the boom, the environmental 00:15:15.009 --> 00:15:18.169 boom in the 70s, but they've never taken a class 00:15:18.169 --> 00:15:24.350 with like Dr. Valle or Dr. Swanson or even Ann 00:15:24.350 --> 00:15:26.629 Dabb, who is currently taking pictures of us. 00:15:28.480 --> 00:15:30.860 So like they just I don't know. It's something 00:15:30.860 --> 00:15:33.340 really cool. It's this small fee. How much is 00:15:33.340 --> 00:15:36.120 it? Yeah. It ranges based on the size of your 00:15:36.120 --> 00:15:40.139 bin. So I think here at San Marcos, we have two 00:15:40.139 --> 00:15:42.820 different bin sizes, one small and then one big 00:15:42.820 --> 00:15:45.919 for the cafeteria. Right. Yeah. So like let's 00:15:45.919 --> 00:15:48.279 say you just do just like a lot of people have 00:15:48.279 --> 00:15:50.480 like a small compost bins. I know the dorms used 00:15:50.480 --> 00:15:52.700 to have. Yeah. It's like a bathroom trash can. 00:15:52.779 --> 00:15:54.240 So let's say you do something similar with your 00:15:54.240 --> 00:15:56.659 soft plastics because realistically. They don't 00:15:56.659 --> 00:15:59.480 take up a ton of space. No. And so families can 00:15:59.480 --> 00:16:01.980 actually start doing that. And that's $14. That's 00:16:01.980 --> 00:16:06.580 a Starbucks coffee and a bacon gouda. Love me 00:16:06.580 --> 00:16:10.259 a bacon gouda. Me too. It's my go -to. Yeah, 00:16:10.360 --> 00:16:12.899 and I think what's even easier is the size of 00:16:12.899 --> 00:16:15.000 these bags. I mean, I believe the smallest size 00:16:15.000 --> 00:16:17.000 is the size of a pillowcase. And it's an actual 00:16:17.000 --> 00:16:19.340 baggie that... that plastic beach gives you. 00:16:19.440 --> 00:16:21.899 So you don't even have to, to go out of your 00:16:21.899 --> 00:16:23.820 way. They give you all the things that you need. 00:16:23.879 --> 00:16:26.840 It's, I think that one's, what did you say? 14 00:16:26.840 --> 00:16:35.059 or seven? $14. $14. Yeah. Yeah. And it's just, 00:16:35.100 --> 00:16:37.659 it's so easy. And again, it's so accessible. 00:16:37.779 --> 00:16:40.840 Like everybody can do it. It's a, it's not some 00:16:40.840 --> 00:16:44.320 corporation thing that needs to be only implemented 00:16:44.320 --> 00:16:48.000 in. high operating factories it could be in your 00:16:48.000 --> 00:16:51.740 home with yeah your little amazon packages right 00:16:51.740 --> 00:16:54.220 and these are these are simple like solutions 00:16:54.220 --> 00:16:56.879 to a bigger issue like i mentioned issue like 00:16:56.879 --> 00:17:00.019 like i mentioned earlier climate change is not 00:17:00.019 --> 00:17:04.119 a okay i'm gonna work up and then boom big solution 00:17:04.119 --> 00:17:06.940 it's combating climate change is a slow moving 00:17:06.940 --> 00:17:09.920 process for sure you know everybody's heard take 00:17:09.920 --> 00:17:11.759 shorter showers but there's things like that 00:17:11.759 --> 00:17:14.950 where yeah like sometimes you know my girls and 00:17:14.950 --> 00:17:17.410 maybe my guys we love our everything showers 00:17:17.410 --> 00:17:19.869 you know sometimes a girl just needs to decompress 00:17:19.869 --> 00:17:22.750 in the shower after work or school right like 00:17:22.750 --> 00:17:24.430 when you get home and you just had that exam 00:17:24.430 --> 00:17:27.329 and you're like oh my god i need like a warm 00:17:27.329 --> 00:17:30.650 shower but there's things you can do like um 00:17:30.650 --> 00:17:33.230 investing in plastic beach and like i said just 00:17:33.230 --> 00:17:37.109 i i know i know we love our coffees guys but 00:17:37.109 --> 00:17:39.309 don't get a coffee and a little sweet treat that 00:17:39.309 --> 00:17:44.039 day i know that's a big ask but Then once a month 00:17:44.039 --> 00:17:46.440 you or instead of not getting coffee in your 00:17:46.440 --> 00:17:49.420 sweet treat, maybe skip out on like, I don't 00:17:49.420 --> 00:17:51.859 know, I'm such a sucker of buying sushi at the 00:17:51.859 --> 00:17:54.279 USU. Maybe I skip out on that and I actually 00:17:54.279 --> 00:17:56.420 like meal prep like or eat my meal prep that 00:17:56.420 --> 00:17:58.700 I already made. I'm supposed to make, you know, 00:17:58.700 --> 00:18:00.460 like there's little things that you can do to 00:18:00.460 --> 00:18:03.059 like help yourself invest in this climate change. 00:18:03.380 --> 00:18:06.500 Yeah. And like you said, we're entering a time 00:18:06.500 --> 00:18:12.069 period where. The elder generation didn't have 00:18:12.069 --> 00:18:16.049 this technology, but it's not even technology 00:18:16.049 --> 00:18:19.170 because it's literally as simple as redirecting 00:18:19.170 --> 00:18:21.990 where your hand goes and which trash can. And 00:18:21.990 --> 00:18:25.750 I think that we're just at a breaking point time. 00:18:25.950 --> 00:18:28.829 And this is one of those companies that helps 00:18:28.829 --> 00:18:32.170 with that breakthrough and another small step 00:18:32.170 --> 00:18:36.269 into the climate action. Absolutely. So what 00:18:36.269 --> 00:18:38.769 do you think students can gain from this kind 00:18:38.769 --> 00:18:41.630 of involvement just beyond obviously the obvious 00:18:41.630 --> 00:18:44.410 volunteer hours or student? What is it? Student 00:18:44.410 --> 00:18:46.329 learning or some service learning? That's what 00:18:46.329 --> 00:18:48.210 it's called. Or like service learning hours. 00:18:48.269 --> 00:18:49.910 What do you think students can gain from like 00:18:49.910 --> 00:18:52.369 not even necessarily volunteering with them, 00:18:52.430 --> 00:18:55.730 but just switching to Plastic Beach and using 00:18:55.730 --> 00:18:59.690 that to recycle soft plastics? I think education, 00:18:59.890 --> 00:19:02.769 growth, growth in your environmental education 00:19:02.769 --> 00:19:07.470 and where. your waist truly goes. I mean, I think 00:19:07.470 --> 00:19:12.769 there is a big gap, another gap in where people 00:19:12.769 --> 00:19:17.170 know where the waist goes. And I think one thing 00:19:17.170 --> 00:19:20.289 that they can take away is, again, I'm going 00:19:20.289 --> 00:19:23.710 to say again, how accessible it is to do and 00:19:23.710 --> 00:19:27.849 really learn where your waist is going and how 00:19:27.849 --> 00:19:30.339 you can divert. different way i mean you can 00:19:30.339 --> 00:19:32.440 start with plastic beach because they only do 00:19:32.440 --> 00:19:35.059 twos and fours but then maybe you learn about 00:19:35.059 --> 00:19:37.700 a company that does compost and then you like 00:19:37.700 --> 00:19:40.259 the lumi i know does from the solana center you 00:19:40.259 --> 00:19:42.660 start with that too and then again it's just 00:19:42.660 --> 00:19:46.190 like these steps that you take to yeah to get 00:19:46.190 --> 00:19:48.529 your picture yeah and educating yourself on maybe 00:19:48.529 --> 00:19:51.210 what what actually goes in what bin yes like 00:19:51.210 --> 00:19:53.349 a lot of people think single -use utensils can 00:19:53.349 --> 00:19:56.250 be recycled they can't no or like i've taught 00:19:56.250 --> 00:19:57.630 my grandparents because i currently live with 00:19:57.630 --> 00:19:59.589 my grandparents that green bin that like their 00:19:59.589 --> 00:20:04.529 plants and tree leaves go in yeah i just yeah 00:20:04.529 --> 00:20:07.150 okay that their plants that they're like plants 00:20:07.150 --> 00:20:09.009 and sticks and all that fun stuff goes in when 00:20:09.009 --> 00:20:11.109 my grandma's like gardening you can throw your 00:20:11.109 --> 00:20:13.190 food in that bin too your food scraps that's 00:20:13.190 --> 00:20:17.490 the compost bin Yeah, I think the education part 00:20:17.490 --> 00:20:21.230 really is a big hitter for Plastic Beach because, 00:20:21.289 --> 00:20:24.049 I mean, they have it labeled. They give you a 00:20:24.049 --> 00:20:27.930 full placard of what can go in where and the 00:20:27.930 --> 00:20:31.710 types of plastic. And again, again, again, again, 00:20:31.730 --> 00:20:34.210 it's so accessible. It's like too easy. Right. 00:20:34.329 --> 00:20:36.509 It really is. Yeah. And like that's what a lot 00:20:36.509 --> 00:20:38.569 of like things are. They're just so easy that 00:20:38.569 --> 00:20:40.690 you don't even. Think about them, I guess. Yeah. 00:20:40.890 --> 00:20:43.609 Well, anyway, Tyler, thank you so much for taking 00:20:43.609 --> 00:20:45.509 the time to speak and educate us today, especially 00:20:45.509 --> 00:20:47.910 on Plastic Beach. Now that we're nearing the 00:20:47.910 --> 00:20:49.970 end of our podcast, I'd like to introduce to 00:20:49.970 --> 00:20:52.509 you our tradition of offering our listeners a 00:20:52.509 --> 00:20:54.309 chance to implement something into their own 00:20:54.309 --> 00:20:56.750 lives that helps combat climate change in some 00:20:56.750 --> 00:20:59.769 small way. In other words, it's our call to action. 00:21:00.009 --> 00:21:02.529 What is one thing our listeners can do to contribute 00:21:02.529 --> 00:21:06.720 to climate action in their own lives today? I 00:21:06.720 --> 00:21:08.579 really thought hard on this, actually. I have 00:21:08.579 --> 00:21:10.900 two answers, if that's okay with you. Yeah, give 00:21:10.900 --> 00:21:14.859 them. One answer is that just because there is 00:21:14.859 --> 00:21:17.680 a system that is in place does not mean that 00:21:17.680 --> 00:21:20.740 that system needs to stay in place for the rest 00:21:20.740 --> 00:21:24.400 of eternity. Yep, clock it. I think that there 00:21:24.400 --> 00:21:27.640 needs to be a big... I mean, I hope I inspire 00:21:27.640 --> 00:21:30.559 people and Matthew inspires people and other 00:21:30.559 --> 00:21:33.680 organizations like this to push for a paradigm 00:21:33.680 --> 00:21:35.900 shift in the way things are being ran right now, 00:21:35.980 --> 00:21:38.480 especially in this country, because this country, 00:21:38.539 --> 00:21:42.400 I mean, it's like less than 10 % is recycled. 00:21:42.480 --> 00:21:45.980 It's truly recycled in all of the gross of America. 00:21:46.480 --> 00:21:50.980 So I think just push for a paradigm shift in 00:21:50.980 --> 00:21:53.960 the way things operate and the systems that operate. 00:21:55.450 --> 00:21:58.309 The other thing is that I think that we just 00:21:58.309 --> 00:22:00.829 need to sit down and have a conversation with 00:22:00.829 --> 00:22:04.630 one another on issues and possible solutions 00:22:04.630 --> 00:22:09.049 rather than arguing, you believe this, you believe 00:22:09.049 --> 00:22:11.029 that. It's just you, you, you finger pointing. 00:22:11.670 --> 00:22:15.490 When we're all in this together, we need to sit 00:22:15.490 --> 00:22:19.789 down, be in each other's shoes, and find a solution, 00:22:19.950 --> 00:22:23.289 get to a point where we can have a productive 00:22:23.289 --> 00:22:26.740 earth. That's not just dying anymore, but we're 00:22:26.740 --> 00:22:29.900 actually helping it survive. I truly resonate 00:22:29.900 --> 00:22:31.900 with both of those. They really hit close to 00:22:31.900 --> 00:22:34.880 home. And I hope like it's just inspired me sitting 00:22:34.880 --> 00:22:36.440 here with you today, learning about our local 00:22:36.440 --> 00:22:38.420 nonprofits. And I hope it does the same for our 00:22:38.420 --> 00:22:41.400 listeners around the world. So, yes, please. 00:22:41.579 --> 00:22:43.519 Also, I thought about another one. Please do 00:22:43.519 --> 00:22:46.200 your research. Yes. Do in -depth research about 00:22:46.200 --> 00:22:48.640 what is going on. Don't take things for face 00:22:48.640 --> 00:22:52.089 value. Yes. Dive in. Absolutely. I'm done. No 00:22:52.089 --> 00:22:54.990 more calls to action. Well, thank you for opening 00:22:54.990 --> 00:22:56.869 my mind and hopefully the mind of our listeners. 00:23:03.720 --> 00:23:06.680 Want to hear more from Climate to Action, a CSUSM 00:23:06.680 --> 00:23:09.259 student podcast? Be sure to check us out wherever 00:23:09.259 --> 00:23:11.519 you get your podcasts and follow us on our socials 00:23:11.519 --> 00:23:14.400 at Climate to Action. That's at Climate to Action 00:23:14.400 --> 00:23:17.160 on Instagram and at Climate the number two action 00:23:17.160 --> 00:23:19.940 on TikTok. Make sure to follow at It's Plastic 00:23:19.940 --> 00:23:22.119 Beach on Instagram. And of course, follow at 00:23:22.119 --> 00:23:24.960 Climate to Action for much, much more. Climate 00:23:24.960 --> 00:23:27.240 to Action is recorded at Inspiration Studios 00:23:27.240 --> 00:23:30.299 on the CSUSM campus. Our podcast is funded in 00:23:30.299 --> 00:23:32.119 part by a generous donation from the Rosemary 00:23:32.119 --> 00:23:35.319 Raymer Great Foundation. Remember, it's never 00:23:35.319 --> 00:23:37.000 too late to start making a difference in the 00:23:37.000 --> 00:23:39.859 climate crisis. Keep learning, keep acting, and 00:23:39.859 --> 00:23:42.720 keep pushing for change. Until next time, this 00:23:42.720 --> 00:23:44.579 is Climate to Action signing off.