The Problem
My wish for our project is, first and foremost, to reduce boba plastic waste on our city's downtown Park Street area. A recent waste audit conducted in January of 2019 found that the majority of trash on Park Street came from our numerous boba tea stores. Secondly, I hope to implement a solution to the reduction of boba plastic that will not negatively impact the hard-working boba tea store owners on our island, as they represent a new and upcoming Asian culture phenomenon that should not be criticized for their lack of sustainability. Third, I desire for my high school's students to be less apathetic, and more involved in keeping our community safe from environmental harm!
Our Plan
My project will reduce boba tea plastic on Park Street (downtown area in Alameda, California), focus on healthy and communicative partnerships between boba tea store owners, the city government (who recently enacted a law against plastic use in restaurants), and community members such as high schoolers. My club will sell "boba kits" that consist of a reusable glass boba jar and a stainless steel straw (hence the name "Straws of Steel") for $6. This price has been chosen to be affordable for the differently situated people in Alameda. Additionally, as high schoolers are the boba tea stores' main audience, our main demographic will be those very same high schoolers (some of whom are our friends and family). To encourage high schoolers to use them, we are creating a discount system with the Park Street boba stores, where, for example, a student can bring in our "boba kit" and he/she will receive a 10% discount off their purchase.
