One plastic bottle cap at a time. One action at a time. Together.

Considering our socioeconomic status and the environment we are born in, seemingly small and "changeable" identities can play a larger role in our lives than we may think. As I learned throughout the 5-week summer training intensive through OneGreenThing, our environment plays an immense role in our lives. This environment, which surrounds us from the moment we are born, becomes the preface of what could entail lifelong suffering for many. In particular, this affects those in the lowest income bracket the most. This is largely because the lowest-income communities are surrounded by various dangerous environmental zones with some of the highest amounts of toxic chemicals, which those same communities consume. An example includes the water systems we drink on a day-to-day basis. As a study from the Silent Spring Institute notes, over 97 million U.S. residents are exposed to unregulated contaminants in their drinking water, including PFAS (Silent Spring Institute). PFAS stands for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and are a group of man-made chemicals which are used in various household items but can contaminate our water sources and impact us if consumed. 

These statistics are alarming. This means that many are currently facing these forever chemicals in their daily lives. Yet, this statistic isn't nearly as shocking as the results that could presage the same group in the future. While scientists are still investigating the long-term effects, many have come to find that the continued exposure to PFAS and other toxins could lead to significantly increased rates of cancer, reproductive disorders, and developmental issues among marginalized populations (Stanford Medicine).

Yet, these long-term effects as a result of water contamination have been my reality for the past 18 years of my life. Being born to hard-working parents who built their small corner of the world to raise me and my 3 sisters for the next 20 years taught me many life-long values. For one, simply giving up is not an option. One must try and try until you give it your all. However, the water quality in the environment in which I was raised also severely pushed back the personal effort given. Though not glaringly apparent at first, this reality has cost me and many others long-term effects that could continue to go unnoticed unless it is openly discussed.

From this, the next question becomes: what can we do about it?

Well, here are a few solutions that could be applied if you're curious to help out your current community.

1. Corporate Responsibility & Market Opportunity

To begin, it is necessary for environmental hazards like PFAS not to simply be the public's health crises. Rather, these are material financial risks for corporations as well. These can be noted through a few large examples. For instance, companies become responsible for contamination and face billions in cleanup costs, litigation expenses, and even reputational damage. On top of that, municipalities face the economic burden of deteriorating infrastructure.

However, this challenge also gives rise to an opportunity: investing in PFAS-free manufacturing, water filtration technology, and more sustainable infrastructure. This could provide a balance between investors and the public. As the public communicates these difficult environmental factors in their own municipality, investors and financial institutions can see the long-term generative value of backing these greener solutions to protect both their community and their shareholder returns.

2. Community-Led Solutions

Secondly, it is important to recognize the power we hold as a community. For instance, grassroots surrounding your neighborhood could help with clean water testing programs in the most affected neighborhoods. To easily access which neighborhoods are most affected, a PFAS contamination map is a great place to start. Attached is a map I found useful while conducting my research (non-affiliated): https://www.ewg.org/interactive-maps/pfas_contamination/

From here, the opportunities are endless with the power of our voice. Whether this requires passing out flyers from door-to-door or speaking to see if there are any local organizations (or even nearby local organizations!). If there are none, there is always the opportunity to work with your personal network of friends and family to start a small project and eliminate these issues through speaking to council members or the mayor. From personal experience, governmental officials are much more receptive to youth, and this can become a huge asset.

3. Individual Action

Finally, our use of individual voice is also incredibly powerful when positioned for ACTION. For one, our overall consumption of water contamination can be minimized by using PFAS-free products and avoiding any potential non-stick cookware with PTFE (Polytetrafluoroethylene, also known as Teflon) coatings. By doing our due diligence to find out what we consume on a daily basis, we can help not only our community but also ourselves from potential long-term effects!

Additionally, while this also ties back to community involvement, it is always important to educate our friends/family about environmental justice issues. Sometimes, the most difficult part is getting started. However, these conversations need to become normalized. Without these conversations, our ACTION work cannot be started.

Going forward, our Personal Experience:

To conclude, I wanted to highlight some personal work I've done that will perhaps motivate you to create community change of your own.

*Remember: it begins at the local level. It doesn't have to be revolutionary. Getting started is far better than waiting for the "perfect" moment.

For me, this started by getting involved with my local non-profit watershed conservancy. With the help of the Nanticoke River Watershed Conservancy, our work largely consisted of working with youth to clean up trails, educating the surrounding public, and creating harmonious events that would bring our community further together. Additionally, this provided the inspiration for me to create my own club at my high school. This grew into the Environmental Science Change-makers Club, which initiated a year-long project. In this project, we aimed at creating a mural entirely out of bottle caps. This resulted in the community collecting thousands of bottle caps. These bottle caps were then utilized to create a piece that showcased the dangers of plastics and PFAS in our oceans. In turn, this was largely visible to the public via our annual county-wide art festival and now resides in the library within our high school.

Overall, this work highlighted the environmental justice issues in our local community. However, it wasn't done by me alone. Together, we were able to bridge communities. One plastic bottle cap at a time. Going forward, I can see how each one of us can utilize our own individual superpower and create our own ripple effects. I have no doubt that each and every one of us has the power to create change.

One action at a time. 

Citations:

‌133587755319. “Disparities in Drinking Water Quality in the U.S.” Silent Spring Institute, silentspring.org/project/disparities-drinking-water-quality-us.

“PFAS, Aka “Forever Chemicals”: What the Science Says.” News Center, 2024, med.stanford.edu/news/insights/2024/07/pfas-forever-chemicals-health-risks-scientists.html? Accessed 12 Aug. 2025.

‌Environmental Working Group. “Interactive Map: PFAS Contamination Crisis: New Data Show 2,230 Sites in 49 States.” Www.ewg.org, 2021, www.ewg.org/interactive-maps/pfas_contamination/.