The Bye Bye Plastic Foundation, spearheaded by DJ and music producer BLOND:ISH, has launched a new campaign, Zero Plastic Club: NYC, a city-wide initiative encouraging New York nightlife to go single-use plastic free.
The goal of the campaign is to cut around 42 tonnes of plastic waste from New York’s $35 billion nightlife industry, including bottles, cups, wristbands and other disposable items.
It was launched during Climate Week NYC, which runs from 22 to 29 September.
Anchoring sustainability
BLOND:ISH, aka Vivie-Ann Bakos, said that New York’s nightlife, which is renowned around the world, has an opportunity to drive positive change by anchoring sustainability as part of its agenda.
“I’ve traveled the world and experienced biodiversity, and I see it disappearing,” she commented. “As artists, and especially musicians, we can use the power of music to spread a message of awareness to the world. We have the ability to reach thousands of people in ways most can’t. I really feel that I can make a change – this is my passion and it’s not going anywhere.”
The initiative follows a successful rollout of the Zero Plastic Club model in France, where 24 clubs have cut more than one million single-use plastic items annually, reducing emissions by 4.8 tonnes of CO₂eq emissions.
The immediate goal of the New York campaign is to collect 3,000 signatures by the end of this year to demonstrate public demand for the programme, ahead of its rollout in 2026.
Partners already on board include the NYC Office of Nightlife, venues like House of Yes, and groups including DJs for Climate Action (DJs4CA), Future Meets Present, The Canvas NYC and OVO Vodka.
‘Greener business practices’
“The NYC Office of Nightlife supports Bye Bye Plastic Foundation’s Zero Plastic Club to promote sustainability and greener business practices, helping venues party with a purpose while also raising awareness among partygoers about how they can contribute to climate action goals,” added Jeffrey Garcia, executive director, NYC Office of Nightlife.
Beyond environmental goals, the campaign seeks to highlight the health risks of plastic, with research indicating that bottled water can contain up to 240,000 micro- and nano-plastic particles per litre.
“The work that Bye Bye Plastic is doing is so important for our industry, which has typically been incredibly wasteful in order to function,” commented artist Madame Gandhi, who joins fellow ambassadors Eli Fola, Mashrik, and Luzi Tudor in supporting the campaign. “Having climate leaders like Bye Bye Plastic inspires us as artists to step into our power as activists.” Read more here.
