Interns at the Kozmetsky Center helped create an interactive discussion panel on the politics of plastic. The panelists included Macy Zander with Upstream Solutions, Luke Metzger with Environment Texas and Sean Winn with the Plastic Reduction Project.  

For this event, the Kozmetsky Center brought groups that work on and off campus, at the local, state and federal levels who are all dedicated to supporting issues regarding plastic and solutions for plastic waste. Groups that are doing policy work at the Texas Capitol were also at the event, so students could hear about the issue and some of the solutions to the problems.  

Kozmetsky intern and senior Grace Hosek played a huge role in setting up the event. All of the interns, including Hosek, planned this event from the end of last semester through the beginning of this semester. 

“All of us interns together came up with an idea for what we wanted the event to be about,” Hosek said. “I definitely was able to bias it a little towards an environmental policy event, but we all decided that plastic pollution is something that’s a very obvious problem. We wanted to create an event that was organized around the solutions to the issue.”

The event started off with some time for students to network and talk to the multiple tables, including all of the panelists, as well as Students For Sustainability , Office Of Sustainability, Bon Appetit and Moonshot Compost. Free food from a grilled cheese food truck was also provided for people who attended the event.

“We also wanted to make the event more interactive than others have been in the past, just because sometimes it’s not as fun to just get talked to the whole night,” Hosek said. “We’re hoping that with this more interactive style, people will be able to engage with these groups that are doing solutions-based work, but also learn more than just being talked at.” 

The night was then moved over to the panel with Zander, Metzger and Winn, where they discussed some of the key barriers and challenges in reducing single-use plastic as well as some of the policies that have been successful in other countries and states. The panel was emceed by Charlie Mossberger.  

“From a policy perspective, if we just have the courage to do it, it works,” Winn said. “And it’s not even that hard. People just adjust, and it’s fine.”