Community Groups Fight the “Battle of the Bottle” by Kris Unger, Friends of Accotink Creek

The NOVA Trash Action Work Force’s (TAWF) first Day of Action on May 8, 2017 was a success! We protested at the headquarters of the International Bottled Water Association (IBWA), calling out their opposition to litter reduction initiatives. The IBWA opposes bottle deposit bills, bans on sale of water in disposable bottles in national parks, and other initiatives to reduce trash in our streams. We had at least 30 people, and people brought a lot of creative energy and enthusiasm to the protest. The day started cold and early, but we persisted, setting up our display of bags of plastic water bottles retrieved during stream cleanups at two parking spots across from the building. We had a great mix of signs and messages, from sharpies, cardboard and glitter fish to posters by graphic designers!

More pictures here: https://hku60.smugmug.com/FACC/FACC-TAWF-IBWA-050817

Also, https://www.facebook.com/pg/novatawf/photos/

Friends of Accotink Creek’s Philip Latasa deserves special recognition for his creative contributions, from puppets made of water bottles to an aerial campaign, sending (tethered) balloons up to IBWA’s offices with the message “IBWA, your plastic doesn’t go away!” Friends of Little Hunting Creek formed a strong leadership core throughout the campaign, and Eleanor Quigley took up the flag and led us on our march around the building. Friends of Lake Accotink Park’s Meghan Walker managed planning and coordination like a pro! Clean Fairfax‘s Wendy Cohen and Toni Genberg, and volunteer Sue Freilich, handed out 200 reusable water bottles and flyers at the adjacent King Street Metro, catching the morning rush.

We were especially grateful to have two local Virginia politicians join us:

Delegate Paul Krizek (44th District) took up the flag and led us for awhile – he’s been a strong leader on trash reduction initiatives and a great supporter. Later Tilly Blanding, candida
te delegate for District 42 marched with us, and led us in song she made up on the spot: “Power to the People / Not this Plastic./ We’re out here marching, / ‘Cause things are getting drastic!”

– Watch the video!

Representatives from local environmental groups including Friends of Dyke Marsh

(Glenda Booth) Friends of Huntley Meadows (Cathy Ledec), the Sierra Club (Great Falls Group)

(Norbert Pink), and the Alice Ferguson Foundation also joined us – We’re stronger together!

This was our first Action, and we’re very pleased with how it turned out. We’re glad that we invested a lot of time in planning and coordinating this event, because that resulted in a strong team with good diversity – everyone brought different skills and interests to the table, and we worked to find ways that we could collaborate and support each other.

We don’t know what our next step will be, but given today’s success, we know there will be one!