This past spring, the City of Asheville conducted a voluntary initiative called “Less Plastic Asheville Challenge” inviting Asheville residents to reduce their single-use plastic consumption. The City supported community member efforts by providing information, resources, and a little friendly competition. The campaign ran from February 19 – May 31 and consisted of two key components: access to information and resources and a call to action.
To increase access to information and resources the City posted weekly content on our social media channels and held in person tabling events at retail outlets around the City. Tabling sites were selected based on geographic diversity and included retailers serving diverse groups of residents in terms of age, gender, income level, and ethnicity. Staff at tabling events provided information alongside free bags and stickers to interested individuals who wanted to try out a reusable bag. As a result of this effort City staff:
- Engaged in over 1,750 face-to-face conversations
- Distributed over 1,450 reusable bags
- Reached over 4,500 new social media users
The second component of the initiative, a call to action, was designed to encourage residents to examine their single-use plastic consumption, explore possible alternatives, and commit to reducing plastic consumption in ways that work for them. It is important to realize that we all have the opportunity to reduce our single-use plastic consumption, but that action may look different for each of us and that is ok! Every effort supports a clean and healthy environment for Asheville residents and visitors alike. The initiative provided two options for a call to action, the Pass on Plastic Pledge and Less Plastic Asheville Bingo. The pledge asked individuals to commit to changes to reduce their own plastic footprint while the Bingo Challenge asked residents to spread the word and help educate and inspire others about the issue through a social media challenge. As a result of this effort:
- 565 individuals pledged to reduce plastic consumption
- 51 individuals engaged in the bingo challenge
Thank you to all the residents who engaged and participated in the Less Plastic Asheville Challenge!
The Less Plastic Asheville Challenge is the final phase of the Single-Use Plastic Reduction Project that began in December 2022.