The Green Standard

Program

Program #1: Diversion: Reduction of single use plastics from Hawaii’s waste stream

Our diversion program aims to reduce the amount of single use plastics in Hawai’i ending up in the ocean or landfills by using a multi-pronged collection approach. Our organization will setup multiple plastic collection points around the Big Island of Hawai’i in tandem with a multi-phased education and marketing campaign to create awareness of our program and its goals. Our education and marketing campaign will highlight the plastics problem in Hawaii while providing best practices on:

A) the different types of plastics

B) how to properly clean plastic and sort it so it can be re-used and turned into lasting products.

These actions will reduce plastic from the waste stream / oceans as well as create a Hawai’i product that can live in longevity through recycled plastics. We plan to enlist local community members that are passionate about reducing plastics waste as well as other local groups that have small Precious Plastic Projects in various other parts of the island. In addition, we plan to reach out to local schools on the island to present to them in-person or virtual educational classes and workshops of the plastics crisis so that the next generation of local Hawaiians can become empowered and aware of not only the plastic crisis, but also given solutions via our program.

Our initial collection method will be dedicated drop-off days at local farmers markets around the island. This will allow us to gain notoriety in the individual communities as well as create a stream of recycled plastic to be used in the creation / production of our unique recycled plastic collection bins that will then be placed at participating businesses / drop-off locations around the island. These collection bins are intended to collect plastic from at-home users that have properly cleaned and removed the labels from their plastic waste in need of a disposal site. This allows conscious consumers to divert their waste from ending up in the landfill and/or oceans.

Program #2: Conversion: Transmute single-use plastics into long lasting useable goods using the Precious Plastics Model:

We will create a Precious Plastic processing center, which will consist of a prefabricated shipping container that will house the following equipment:

A) plastic shredder

B) Sheet press

Both of which will assist in the conversion of the collected plastic into branded up-cycled plastic collection bins. These collection bins will be drop off sites for plastic, as well as staple pieces for project awareness and education on proper recycling practices. These bins will be placed at partnered businesses across the Island of Hawai’i.

As we enter into the next phase of our fundraising efforts, we will purchase the below additional equipment:

C) Extrusion Machine

D) Injection mold machine

These machines will melt the plastics into molds. We will produce a plethora of various products that we plan to design and sell under The Green Standard Hawaiian brand. These products will include but are not limited to: flower pots, carabiners, reusable plastic plates and cutlery, free-diving fins, snorkels, et al. We will use our Precious Plastic lab to share with the community the valuable opportunities that come from upcycling plastics collected throughout our island. We will share our practices and methods in workshops that spark curiosity and allow people hands-on experience transforming trash into treasures. One of our main focuses is getting involved with the children and school systems to maximize our outreach and impact for future generations.

Program #3: Regenerative Business Consulting:

We are consulting and implementation partners with Oceanic Global who have developed something called, the Blue Standard, which is a set of industry guidelines that tackles single-use plastic within our worldwide systems to eliminate plastics and adopt sustainable operating practices that create measurable impact that protects our blue planet. This partnership with Oceanic Global provides some of the tools and resources to help local businesses minimize their plastic footprint. As consultants, we will work alongside local businesses to certify through the Blue Standard guidelines to help divert unnecessary plastics from entering our non-existent recycling system. Ryan J. Kemp, one of our co-founders has also worked for many years in sustainable and regenerative business consulting and has his own methodologies that will be applied in bespoke ways to organizations looking to step deeper into regenerative business practices.

Program #4: Beach Cleanups

The Green Standard has already led several beach cleanups that focus on bringing awareness to the plastic problem through a visceral experience of witnessing the amount of plastic waste on some of the most pristine beaches on the planet. For example, Kamilo Beach.

These cleanups also create a sense of community through the process. We focus our clean ups on the south side of the island because it offers invaluable experiences that highlights our worlds plastic crisis. A majority of the plastics ending up along our coasts travel from the Great Pacific Garbage patch, destroying our local ecosystems, inevitably becoming Hawaii’s responsibility. Our clean ups bring participants face to face with the devastation of plastic pollution. These hands-on interactions spark direct action and change to all those that join. These beach cleanups inspired the idea for this project, and we will continue doing these events as part of our organizational education and experiential mission.

Program #5: Night Market / Community Events:

We have designed and planned a Saturday night market for the southern end of the Island of Hawai’i dedicated to creating a more sustainable/plastic-free market experience. We will work with vendors to reduce non-recyclable or non-compostable cutlery and plates while educating attendees about the importance of composting/recycling through signs and word of mouth. We will invite local nonprofits to have booths dedicated to spreading awareness around their cause and open the invitation for others to get involved. The market acts as a local gathering place for rural community members, provides a free movie for the kids, and provides an opportunity for local aligned vendors to showcase their products. As our operations grow we would like to use this as a platform to showcase the products made using the precious plastic model.

**Note: This event was scheduled to begin in September 2021 but due to local covid gathering restrictions, it has been placed on hold until the local ordinance is lifted.