It’s Easy Being Green: How It Started and How Its Going
In July 2026, Beyond Plastics achieved a significant milestone: We engaged our 200th Local Group & Affiliate (LGA). To celebrate this achievement, we invited our very first LGA, It’s Easy Being Green (IEBG), to share their story – how it started and how it’s going.
IEBG’s Sharon Waskow spoke with us about the beginning of the affiliate’s journey and why they continue to join us in the fight against plastic pollution. We are truly honored to collaborate with IEBG, and all of our grassroots partners across the country, who spread the word about the harms of plastic to human health and our planet. Many thanks to Sharon and her fellow IEBG volunteer advocates.
Sharon Waskow, It’s Easy Being Green (photo by Lynn Saville)
Beyond Plastics Affiliate, It’s Easy Being Green, came into being back in 2019 when I, a climate conscious, retired school librarian and brand new grandmother began thinking: What would I tell my granddaughter if in the future she asked me,”What did you do about the climate crisis, Grandma?”
Drawing from my experience working with teachers on environmental projects, I came up with the idea to start a neighborhood climate education and personal action group. The mission: to inform Upper West Siders about what was being done in New York City to address the risks of climate change and the personal actions they could take to mitigate those risks.
Getting it going required networking with local grass roots groups to find members, nailing down exactly how we would reach people and identifying the environmental concerns we would address. But, I still wasn’t sure where we should start. So, I teamed up with my neighbor, Christine, a former high school science teacher and she came up with the friendly name: It’s Easy Being Green.
To learn about the issues, we started attending meetings of environmental groups. Early on we made our way down to Lower Manhattan to attend a jam packed meeting of a new organization called Beyond Plastics.
What did we know about the problems with plastic waste? Nothing. But, after hearing Beyond Plastics’ President, Judith Enck, and lawyer and activist, Jenny Romer speak, we knew we had to get involved. Working on the plastic waste problem seemed logical because everyone used plastic, and yet awareness of its pitfalls was low.
Becoming a Beyond Plastics’ affiliate was an easy decision. Their expertise would guide us in how to persuade our neighbors to care about the hazards of plastic waste and to convince them to lessen their reliance on single use plastic.
Over the years, as we learned more, addressing the plastic waste problem became the primary focus for It’s Easy Being Green (IEBG) and our volunteers are still keen to be working on it. I recently canvassed them on why. Here are a few responses:
Volunteer, Tina: “I work on the problem for the future of our planet. I signed up for Judith Enck's class during the pandemic, and while I was shattered by the facts I learned, Judith managed the impossible: she encouraged positivity even in the face of a dire situation. As a result, devoting time to activism against single-use plastic has become a part of my life. And it feels better to be doing something!”
Volunteer, Judith: “My aversion to plastic is because it's a poison, and I see the short-sightedness of politicians and manufacturers, as well as the public. I want to do what I can.”
It’s Easy Being Green tackles the plastic waste problem in a variety of ways:
We publish a digital monthly newsletter which now goes to nearly 700 subscribers. It includes a column written by volunteers, Kate and Karen, called Let’s be Plastic Free. In it they offer product reviews of personal and household products readers can substitute for plastic. (Here’s some of their recommendations.)
In the newsletter, we promote Judith Enck’s class, encourage readers to support and become active in plastic reduction legislation, and highlight Beyond Plastics’ webinars and events. Feedback from our readers tells us that our messaging about the perils of plastic is getting through. This inspires us to continue finding new ways to spread the word.
IEBG runs a BYO container campaign in our Upper West Side neighborhood. We ask local coffee and tea shops to post a sticker in their window indicating that customers are welcome to use their own container for take out drinks. Read about it here.
IEBG has developed close relationships with our local elected officials. Because of our connection with our city councilperson, he has proposed a law requiring takeaway drink shops to permit customers to use their own containers for drinks. Our State Assemblyperson arranged for us to obtain permission to hold a screening of the film, The Plastic Detox, at no charge at a local community center.
We are near Columbia University and have developed connections with Columbia Climate School students. Jointly we received permission from the owner of a popular hardware store near campus to create a window display earlier this year with the theme, Choose To Be Plastic Free. It remained in place for six months.
IEBG is honored to be working on the critical issue of plastic waste and its toxic effects with the devoted and talented team at Beyond Plastics.
