DJ and producer BLOND:ISH has hosted a club night in New York free from single-use plastic, to mark the US launch of Bye Bye Plastic’s ‘Zero Plastic Club’ concept.
Bye Bye Plastic, which was co-founded by BLOND:ISH, aka Vivie-ann Bakos, and Camille Guitteau in 2019, worked with nightlife venues to phase out the use of single-use plastic. Its Eco-Rider, a contract clause allowing artists to require plastic-free conditions at their shows, has been signed by more than 1,500 artists and DJs worldwide.
Zero Plastic Club
The group’s Zero Plastic Club model was first piloted in Paris, where 24 clubs participated, collectively eliminating 323,983 plastic bottles annually, removing 10.9 tonnes of plastic from circulation and avoiding 20.55 tonnes of CO2 emissions.
According to Bye Bye Plastic, if 50 New York venues were to follow Paris’ lead, more than one million plastic bottles could be eliminated annually, alongside a projected 21 tonnes of plastic waste reduction.
The initiative is being supported by the NYC Office of Nightlife and the Nightlife Climate Constellation, an initiative of Future Meets Present, while Gospel and Brooklyn Roots Collective are serving as mentor venues for the programme.
‘Surpassed expectations’
“What we saw in Paris wasn’t a glitch in the matrix,” commented said Camille Guitteau, director of Bye Bye Plastic. “Twenty-four clubs didn’t just hit a projection, they surpassed all our expectations.
“We’re now bringing the same momentum to New York as this cohort grows: from a collective commitment to a guided path forward, the emulation we see is proof venues can build a path to resilience for the city.”
‘A powerful connector’
The club event in New York, which took place on 3 October, saw the reduction of more than 450 lb of plastic, the group noted. Performers on the night included BLOND:ISH, Luciano and Nico Bernardini, with OpenWater, VYTAL and Holy City Straws providing support for the plastic-free operation.
“Music is a powerful connector. But grabbing a drink or getting water at a show shouldn’t cost our environment,” BLOND:ISH commented. “Removing single-use plastic for this show is a statement about what nightlife in New York can be. It’s proof that culture can move faster than policy when people take action.”
Venues that join Zero Plastic Club commit to phasing out a number of single-use plastic items over a two-year period. Bye Bye Plastic provides audits, guidance, vetted recommendations and staff training to make the transition workable in a live venue. Participating clubs are grouped into a cohort to accelerate impact and share best practices as the programme scales.
According to Bye Bye Plastic, more than 1,030,862 single-use plastic cups have been eliminated through its work to date, while 134 clubs, venues and festivals have joined its programmes. It added that some 12.76 tonnes of plastic were prevented in 2025 through its initiatives. Read more here.
