Amanda LaCroix, Beyond Plastics Speakers’ Bureau Member
For Amanda LaCroix, the fight against plastic pollution began with something deceptively simple: trash.
A longtime member of her town’s Waste Reduction Committee in Ipswich, Massachusetts, LaCroix has spent more than a decade helping her community think differently about waste and sustainability. Recycling, reducing consumption, and protecting the environment were already part of her everyday life. But in 2022, she enrolled in Beyond Plastic’s Judith Enck’s master class on plastic pollution. What she learned about the health consequences of plastics — and what she describes as the industry’s “manipulative practices” — shocked her.
“I went into the class thinking plastic was just a trash issue,” LaCroix said. “Boy was I wrong.”
The experience pushed her beyond local waste advocacy and into public education. Soon afterward, she joined the Beyond Plastics Speakers Bureau.
“Learning about the health consequences of plastics and the manipulative practices by the industry inspired me to want to educate everyone I could on how harmful plastics are for us and our environment,” she said. “Becoming a speaker felt natural and I embraced it immediately.”
Since then, LaCroix has spoken to audiences across her region, encouraging people to rethink their relationship with single-use plastics and recognize the broader implications of convenience culture. While she says large-scale policy changes have been limited in her immediate area, she has seen gradual progress.
Her own town implemented bans on plastic bags and Styrofoam containers back in 2016, and neighboring communities have followed with bag bans of their own. Styrofoam restrictions, however, remain uncommon, and “Skip the Stuff” policies — which limit automatic distribution of plastic utensils and accessories with takeout orders — have yet to take hold nearby.
Still, LaCroix believes meaningful change often starts on a personal level.
Rather than measuring success solely through legislation, she remembers the people whose habits shifted after hearing her speak.
One story that continues to stay with her involved a woman who attended one of her presentations and later found herself at a grocery store watching another shopper place a single lemon into a produce bag. Inspired by LaCroix’s message, she politely asked whether the extra plastic was really necessary. The shopper paused, agreed it wasn’t, and thanked her for pointing it out.
Another example hit even closer to home. A friend of LaCroix’s who regularly drank bottled water called her after attending a presentation to say she was giving up single-use water bottles entirely. More than two years later, LaCroix says, the woman still proudly carries a reusable bottle everywhere she goes.
For LaCroix, those moments are proof that education matters.
“What message do you most want audiences to walk away with?” she is often asked. Her answer is consistent: “Small changes make a big difference.”
“Every change, even if it’s just one change, adds up and makes a difference,” she said. “And even if it won’t solve the world-wide plastic crisis, removing as much plastic from your life as possible will lead you to feel better about the choices you personally make.”
The Beyond Plastics Speakers Bureau
Our all-volunteer Speakers Bureau is about more than just sharing information — we aim to inspire and support advocacy and help empower communities to take action to stop plastic pollution. This growing network of trained, knowledgeable advocates plays an essential role in educating people, organizations, and policymakers about various aspects of plastic pollution and the solutions to this crisis. We are actively working to expand this network in every state so more communities can access local, informed voices.
If you’re interested in joining the Beyond Plastics Volunteer Speakers Bureau, please complete the form and we’ll be in touch.