Our focus was to deal with the trash program by developing an engaged, active, and responsible citizenry. We pursued this through the following programs:

1. The ¡Juega tu Mejor Papel! (“Do Your Part!”) Campaign was launched in 2005 to recycle the massive quantity of schoolbooks and journals that were routinely thrown in the trash at the end of every school year. In the 2007-2008 school year, 57 tons of paper were recovered and repurposed, with more than 100 schools from all grade levels participating. In the 2008-2009 school year, that number grew to 70 tons of paper with 138 schools participating. The recovered paper was channeled through an intermediary into a recycling plant which created products that were returned to the community, such as paper towels, toilet paper, napkins, and more.
2. The Por una Navidad Ecológica (“Have a Green Christmas”) campaign launched in 2005 to promote the organic composting of Christmas trees, which was embraced by the community: local malls joined the campaign by acting as collection centers for the trees, and families participated by delivering them for composting after the holiday season. 40% to 60% of all pine trees sold were collected, producing 3-4 tons of organic compost. This project benefited from the participation of three important partners: the malls which served as collection/recycling centers for the pine trees, the city council which transported the collected pines, and the Agricultural Technology Studies Center #38 (Centro de Estudios Tecnológico Agropecuario #38) that made the actual compost through workshops with its students.
3. The ¡Que Papelazo! program invited schools to start separating, sorting, and recycling their waste. Ponguinguiola gathered and organized this waste in its collection center and sold it to a recycling plant, then returning that money to the participating schools, churches, and households. Thanks to its great success, this campaign remains active as of 2020 under the leadership of the Universidad La Salle – Ponguinguiola in Ciudad Obregón, Sonora.

A community network was formed through, and thanks to, these projects. Today it consists of more than 157 businesses, 116 schools, 60 organizations and 14 governmental agencies, along with hundreds of families. Thanks to this network, 50 to 60 tons of recyclable materials are removed from the trash pipeline every month.

Ponguinguiola opened its doors in La Paz In 2014, working together with NOS (Noroeste Sustentable) in the fishing community of El Manglito. We have two main branches of work here: children’s workshops, and environmental programs.

The children’s workshops seek to encourage the children’s love and capacity for the written word, to help them better express themselves as well as to understand and respect others’ opinions, and to reinforce their connection to nature and the environment, that they might better be empowered to care for and protect it (and have the scientific training and skills to do so). Between 2014 and 2019, we offered a variety of classes such as:

• I save by recycling
• Reading
• Music
• Music
• Learning About Myself
• Biology: Ocean, Mollusks, Birds, Mammals, Reptiles, and Fish
• Dinosaurs
• Art
• Audiobooks
• The Human Body
• Gardening
• Memory and Focus
• Journalism
• Dance
• Theatre
• Bike riding, bike maintenance, and urban design (with partner organization BCScletos)

During this five-year period we had 72 children participate, 4 of whom graduated from the workshops (after their 11th birthday) and decided to return as volunteers to the same program, along with 11 volunteers and 18 university social services students.

Finally, at the beginning of 2016 the environmental program closed and in its place began preparations for the #Desplastifícate campaign, which launched formally in 2018.

DESPLASTIFÍCATE (or, “deplastify yourself”)

In September 2016, Ponguinguiola - La Paz restructured its programs, understanding that recycling alone does not present a complete solution to the solid waste produced by human activity. On the contrary, it is necessary to work on changing consumption habits as this is the root cause of waste production. For this reason, the decision was made to launch a campaign to reduce the consumption of single-use plastics, specifically: plastic straws, grocery bags, and styrofoam.

Since 2017, the Ponguinguiola team has been coordinating and leading the #Desplastifícate alliance, a partnership of 35 non-profit organizations from the state of Baja California Sur which seeks to change the population’s consumption habits and convince consumers to reject single-use plastics, starting with styrofoam containers, plastic straws, and plastic shopping bags. Through this alliance we seek to promote empathy among the citizens of this state, raising awareness and recognition of the powerful negative impact that our unchecked consumption of these products is having on public health and on the environment.

We focus on the three aforementioned products in particular because of their short functional life, which varies from just 15 minutes of use to up to several weeks, and also because of their highly documented toxic effects on public health such as the use of styrofoam subjected to high temperatures.

To achieve this, the #Desplastifícate alliance followed the subsequent work plan:

In May we undertook a survey to find out how many straws and styrofoam containers were being used in the restaurants and groceries located on the malecón (boardwalk) of La Paz, Baja California Sur, and to use this data to inform our campaign. Among other results, we found the following:

• There are currently 61 food-service businesses (restaurants, bars, ice cream shops, and grocers/convenience stores)
• 2,958 plastic straws are handed out daily
• 1,971 styrofoam containers are handed out daily

Considering the size and number of establishments in the Malecón district, these were alarming results and it was decided to roll out this campaign at a statewide level.

The campaign created informational materials such as tri-fold table cards, bumper stickers, videos, and radio spots. These materials were used to inform the population in general about the issue of single-use plastics; for example, they were placed on tables of cooperating restaurants, bars, and hotels where patrons could review them.

The campaign launched publicly through a press conference on February 2nd, 2018, in the La Paz Cultural Center (Centro Cultural de La Paz) in the city center. This event was assisted by 72 people from the media, participating businesses, government representatives and ambassadors from the 23 non-profit organizations that at the time had been working together since 2017 to establish the #Desplastifícate alliance.

The #Desplastifícate Alliance members decided to create work teams to plan, develop, and take actions along 4 main axes, all in pursuit of the same objective (to diminish and eliminate single-use plastics in the state). We accordingly established the following 4 committees:

1. Communication Committee: Social networks (Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter) offer a platform to share important information about the consumption of plastics. We have created some original content, such as two videos and four radio spots as well as visual materials that the participating organizations contribute. We currently enjoy the support of local radio stations who run short ads with information about the #Desplastifícate law and invite the community to adopt new habits that help care for the environment.
2. Business Committee: We met with business leaders from various relevant sectors: tourism, hotels and hospitality, producers, restaurants, bars, and ice cream shops. Through these meetings we generated a strategic plan for how to raise awareness in the business community about the issues of single-use plastics and about alternative products that can be used in place of plastic straws, grocery bags, and takeout containers. Finally, we created trainings for businesses interested in quitting their use of disposable plastics and adopting better practices, such as:
   • Suggesting and promoting the use of fully compostable products such as cups, takeout containers, and disposable cutlery when necessary (keeping in mind that the ideal practice is to avoid using disposable products whenever possible).
   • Avoiding the use of plastic straws, as this is considered a product of low utility, with a short life cycle and incredibly long-lasting, profoundly harmful presence in the environment.
   • Reduce the use of plastic grocery bags in order to encourage the use of reusable cloth bags.
3. Educational Committee: We believe that children’s education is the most important ingredient in creating change for the better. Children who are made aware of these issues early on can grow into conscientious and responsible citizens that care for and protect public health and the environment, both for future generations and the present ones. The members of this committee come from educational organizations and have undertaken the following actions:
   1. Co-creation workshops
   2. #Desplastifícate school curriculum:
      A collaboration between Ponguinguiola, the Coastal Institute of Baja California Sur (el Instituto Costero de Baja California Sur), and the “Education for Action” program (Educación para la Acción), whose goal is to offer trainings, outdoor experiences, and project-based learning to middle and high school teachers, principals, and students. This program works by linking regional schools and the state’s Secretary of Public Education (SEP, la Secretaría de Educación Pública) with other organizations. These collaborators are currently working together to develop a series of curricular proposals focusing on sustainability, identity, and sense of place. This includes more specific units of study such as “Biodiversity and Desplastifícate” and “Water and Food Sovereignty.” These curriculums are being developed with the endorsement and oversight of the state’s Secretary of Public Education and are intended to be taught in schools statewide.
4. Public Policy Committee: In the political realm, a strategic plan was created and implemented to draft and propose a bill to the State Legislature to pass an Ecological Balance and Environmental Protections Law (Ley del Equilibrio Ecológico y Protección al Medio Ambiente) which would create change at the state level by prohibiting the production, sale, and use of the three target single-use plastic products.

On June 18th, 2018, Representative Maritza Muñoz took the podium to present the bill, taking up the cause of the #Desplastifícate Alliance, which at that time included 35 non-profit organizations along with such bodies as CANIRAC La Paz y Los Cabos and EMPRHOTUR La Paz y Los Cabos. The State Congress unanimously voted to approve the bill and pass the Ecological Balance and Environmental Protections Law of Baja California Sur (Ley del Equilibrio Ecológico y Protección al Medio Ambiente del Estado de Baja California Sur), which prohibits the use of plastic bags, styrofoam containers, and plastic straws. It is worth mentioning that a grace period of 12 months was granted between the passing of the law and the rollout of its enforcement, given the affected businesses (supermarkets, pharmacies, automotive/gas station stops and convenience stores, markets, and restaurants) time to use up the supplies that they had already purchased and replace them with alternative options. Wholesale and retail distributors, meanwhile, were given a period of 18 months to transition to compostable products. The government made an important commitment to phase out use of the three targeted single-use plastic products within 9 months, and transition to using other ecologically-friendly materials both for daily use as well as at meetings and other events.

As of February 20th, 2020, the Official Bulletin of Technical Standards and Practices (Boletín Oficial la Norma Técnica) has published which kinds of plastic, with what qualities and characteristics, are prohibited by law.

To successfully implement and enforce this law, it is necessary to have a municipal program for replacing plastic bags and expanded polystyrene. We are currently working with the Ecology Department for the Municipality of La Paz (Dirección de Ecología del Ayuntamiento de La Paz), in order to facilitate strategies and proposals in this last phase of the transition.