Shilpi Chhotray is centering BIPOC leadership to get to the root cause of plastic pollution
SHACK15 spoke with member Shilpi Chhotray about how plastic pollution is not only a rapidly growing environmental issue - but also a social one, with communities of people of color being disproportionately affected. Chhotray unpacks the complex global crisis and explains what her People Over Plastic BIPOC Storytelling Collective is doing to spread awareness about the issue, and what we can do to change the course of the production and disposal of this toxic material.
SHACK15: Tell us about your background and what motivated you to get involved in environmental and social causes.
Chhotray: I’ve spent the last 15 years in the environmental field and come from a marine science and conservation policy background. I’ve worked on topics ranging from marine protected areas, fisheries, underwater research (and even spent time diving in a yellow submarine!). My first big project related to plastic pollution was researching and mapping all the stakeholders involved with its supply chain, from the oil companies to the corporations, to the NGOs and big governmental institutions. This was back in 2014 when the focus was solely on ocean plastic pollution and we were still calling it “marine debris”. In 2017, I was recruited to build the communications arm for Break Free From Plastic which was just launching. We're now a 2,500 member strong grassroots movement with an emphasis on stopping pollution at source and systemic change. Having the immense privilege of meeting with frontline leaders all over the world, I quickly realized the ocean was just the tip of the iceberg and became completely immersed on the social justice side of the issue. From extraction, to production, to disposal, plastic pollutes the entire course of its lifecycle and burdens communities of color the hardest.
SHACK15: How did the idea for your People Over Plastic (POP) BIPOC Storytelling Collective come about? Did you anticipate having such a successful first season of the podcast- POP's inaugural project?
Chhotray: My son is now 13 months old, and he’s a big motivation for why I started POP. When I was on maternity leave, I started talking to other new moms and people outside of our typical activist circles. I realized how much of a bubble we were in and that most concerned individuals didn’t know that plastic came from oil, and how toxic it is for communities of color around the world. I was also having a real existential moment about what the future is going to look like for my little guy if we don’t focus more on stopping the production of plastic - since 99% of plastic comes from fossil fuels today. We all know that plastic pollution and climate change are the biggest crisis of our times - but what does it actually mean to get people to care and generate conversation in non-activist spaces? There’s something so powerful about unfiltered storytelling and creating the platforms to have honest conversations for the sake of dialogue in its own right. That’s how POP’s first media project - the People Over Plastic podcast - was born. We’re very proud to have wrapped up season 1 of the podcast and didn’t expect to have so many of our guests tell us how important it is to create the medium to be able to tell their stories in the ways that are most authentically theirs.
Listen to the Podcast
SHACK15: What stands out in terms of what you've learned during your conversations? What has been most inspiring?
Chhotray: A universal thread with many of the environmental justice leaders we have the honor of learning from is how plastic is such a multilayered and complex issue. You cannot separate environmental justice from social justice and racial justice - there are so many other pieces of oppression that are part of the same fight, which is still fundamentally about civil liberties. It’s also important we value lived experience and recognize the motivation is largely about protecting community and family. The environment, health, people and planet are all incredibly connected to this simple concept.
Community Organizer Sharon Lavigne, Founder of environmental justice group RISE St. James
SHACK15: What's next for you? What are your ambitions for this year?
Chhotray: Alongside our Co-Founder, Environmental Attorney Patrice Simms, we developed the concept for the Storytelling Collective to catalyze conversations in black and brown communities and to find creative ways to let that dialogue flourish. The POP team is constantly thinking of new ways to bring the conversations to life. We are so excited to partner with SHACK15 for our first Story Salon that brings together leading BIPOC voices for an evening of sensational storytelling. Our first Salon includes an impressive lineup, including: Miss Sharon Lavigne, a retired special needs teacher in St. James Parish, Louisiana who founded the faith based environmental justice group RISE St. James. She was named the 2021 North American winner of the Goldman Environmental Prize (and a recent feature in PEOPLE magazine!) for fighting to keep the multibillion dollar Formosa Plastic out of her community, located in an area of the country we don’t talk about enough - “Cancer Alley.”
We are excited to unveil more unconventional storytelling projects later this year, stay tuned!
SHACK15: What are some easy yet creative ways that people can get involved in protecting people and the planet?
Chhotray: Voting. It’s the most important way to influence systemic change by addressing the ways we are governed by. In California, we sit in a seat of privilege since we can openly pressure our governments and local officials, and even business leaders. In states like Texas and Louisiana, which also happen to be major hubs for the petrochemical industry (plastic production), there’s massive oppression when it comes to voting. People simply don’t know what’s happening to our friends in this part of the country so it’s really important we become active and ensure our government is putting people over profit, no matter their background or where they live. In terms of POP, our goal is to leverage these different avenues of storytelling to motivate and catalyze the next generation of voters.