Ten percent of the plastic bags thrown away will end up in the ocean, affecting over one million sea animals every year.

When 14-year-old Ben Schneider, an eighth grader at Wydown Middle School and a member of Shaare Zedek synagogue discovered this troubling fact in sixth grade, he decided to try to lower the number. With the help of a few classmates, the Clayton Plastic Bag Campaign, or CPBC, was set in motion.

“We started researching about serious topics around the world and came up with plastic bag pollution,” Ben said. “So we did some more in-depth research about it and found some more information.”

During their investigation of the negative impacts of plastic bags, the campaign members watched a documentary that led the group to question their own plastic bag use.

“We watched the documentary, ‘Bag It,’ which talked about how plastic bags are affecting the environment and how we can reduce our use of them,” campaign member Claire Millet said. 

Ben’s teachers witnessed his devotion to the cause as he began conducting more in-depth research on the topic, especially when he started on CPBC’s first major project: petitioning at the local Clayton farmer’s market, an outdoor grocery store that sells fresh produce.

“He is always thinking of ways to get what he wants done,” Wydown Middle School teacher Linda Gwyn said. “He has certainly dedicated a lot of time thinking about the Clayton’s farmer’s market and addressing letters to local businesses.”

However, Ben and his co-campaignersdidn’t immediately decide what to do with the information they had gathered about disposable plastic bag use. It wasn’t until the following year when they collaborated on a school community service project that they first discussed the possibility of creating a plastic bag campaign.

“In seventh grade we got assigned a ‘Legacy Project’ where we had to leave behind a legacy and we decided on this [campaign],” Claire Millet said.

Since then, CPBC has been taking small steps to reduce disposable plastic bag use in Clayton, with the eventual goal of eliminating plastic bags entirely.

“Last fall we went to the Clayton Farmer’s Market and petitioned there,” campaign member Victor Xie said. “We also arranged a public showing of that documentary, ‘Bag It.’ We mostly just try to get the word out there. We want everyone to know how using disposable plastic bags takes a toll on many living creatures.”

Through CPBC’s efforts, the campaign members have learned the importance of helping the environment, one plastic bag at a time.

“I feel like it is a real eye-opener,” Ben said. “Simply using a canvas bag in place of a plastic one reassures me that everything we are doing is helping all of the animals that have to deal with the plastic bag pollution.”

Nevertheless, the campaign has encountered challenges. Many stores and businesses depend on plastic bags, making it more difficult for the campaign to convince stores to abandon their usage.  Despite these setbacks, the CPBC refuses to back down in their fight to protect the environment.

“We always come in contact with places that don’t want to even talk about it,” Ben said. “But we have a powerful argument, making it difficult to refuse.”