I have loved orcas all my life.  As a child, I was inexplicably drawn to these magnificent mammals with plenty of plush toy orcas sitting next to my toy trains.  My first education about orca captivity came with the film, “Free Willy.”  From then on, the more I read and learned about these intelligent mammals, the more I viewed the ocean as an important ecosystem to value and preserve.  From spending childhood summers whale watching in the Northwest and Canada, my love and appreciation of a healthy ocean grew.

Years later, motivated by concern for the health of all marine creatures, I began to focus on plastic and the problems of plastic pollution in our oceans. My first project was helping co-found Smart Recycling Now, a student-led organization which found a way to recycle the plastic in disposable surgical masks used during the pandemic. This recycled plastic was transformed into plastic lumber and built into homes for an endangered owl species. Reaching out to schools and communities with our message about plastic pollution, I soon realized that more education was needed. In my attempt to educate my peers who seemed unaware of the enormity of our world’s plastic problem, I decided to create an educational online site to talk about plastic. I want to teach my peers and the younger generation to think about plastic, an issue which affects our ecosystems and economies with consequences which will trickle down into our daily lives.  Our local township started its own sustainability program and township policies banning single-use plastic bags have already taken effect. Through this website, I hope to expand my educational reach with local businesses, schools and libraries so that communities will understand the need for better sustainability policies. I anticipate that many more topics relating to climate change and how they affect us at the local level will emerge on this website. For now, my love of the orcas, the ocean and my concern for plastic ocean pollution will be my starting point. 

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Alex Borghese

President’s Environmental Youth Award Winner, Honorable Mention 2023 for Smart Recycling Now