ANNUAL REPORT 2025

With 2025 now in the rear view mirror, we are thrilled to look back at all the amazing accomplishments that your support helped achieve!  Here are just the main highlights:

> House Bill 111 – the Delaware Skip the Stuff Act, which would restrict dining establishments from handing out plasticware, condiments paper napkins, and chopsticks unless requested - was introduced and passed through House committee.  It now awaits its House floor vote in January and then will move onto the Senate

> Senate Bill 130 – aimed at banning retail sales of EPS Foam (expanded polystyrene foam (aka Styrofoam)) – sailed through Senate Committee and passed the Senate 17-4 in bipartisan fashion.  It then was signed out of House Committee and now only awaits its House floor vote and the Governor’s signature

> Our 2024 legislation SB51 – which banned dining establishments from using EPS Foam – went into effect on July 1

Other legislation of interest at the state and federal levels includes a Right to Repair bill, legislation which reduce a barrier to composting on agriculturally zoned parcels, and truth in labeling legislation

> PFD worked closely with DNREC and DSWA to reduce annual permitting fees for small community composting sites from $750 to $400, and to remove the $1,250 cost of assurance fees that had been required for each site

> We continue to advocate for additional state code and regulatory changes which will lower barriers to community composting (costs and permitting processes)

> With food waste being almost 23% of what is sent to Delaware's landfills daily, and with the Delaware Solid Waste Authority's partnership, Plastic Free Delaware continued building the Delaware Community Composting Initiative to provide educational programs, outreach and technical assistance to potential project sites to establish community composting projects and to encourage curbside composting.  Our first members’ community composting site in partnership with New Castle County at the Talley Day Park (opened in January 2024) has diverted more than 2 tons of food scraps from the landfill.  Our second community composting site is now permitted, and several additional sites are now poised to open in 2026

> In collaboration with Drexel University's Hack4Impact student team, a new app was developed to track the impact of our community composting sites

> The sixth annual Delaware Youth Environmental Summit (YES!) was attended by more than 750 high school students and their teachers/team advisors from 44 high schools and teen groups from across Delaware, all free of charge.  YES! seeks to engage, inspire and encourage Delaware’s high school students to become active in making a difference regarding environmental issues.  The 2025 YES! featured 5 keynote speakers, 28 breakout workshops, 55 exhibitors, and so much more.  It is thought to be the largest youth summit in Delaware, and the largest environmental youth summit in the U.S.  Planning is now well underway for the seventh annual summit slated for February 20, 2026

> PFD was again awarded a grant from National Geographic to promote and encourage Delaware students of all ages to participate in the global Slingshot Challenge film project
More than 5,500 Delaware residents and visitors were directly touched or participated in one of PFD's educational programs, from online webinars, to school programs, community festivals, and more

> Food waste reduction projects including promoting Plastic Free Lunch Day was completed at Maurice Pritchard Academy in Wilmington.  The state legislature passed a resolution recognizing Delaware’s first annual Plastic Free Lunch Day.  A Plastic Free Lunch Day poster contest received 53 entries

> Film screenings of Microplastic Madness and We are All People Now were featured statewide

> The inaugural Really Really Free Market took place in November and with rave reviews is expected to grow even more in 2026

> A variety of topics were covered in our Monthly Lunch & Learn webinars and Green Drinks gatherings, and recordings of these virtual programs can be found on the PFD YouTube channel
We all had a blast at the 3rd annual #OptOutside Black Friday 5K which raised funds to support our educational programs.

With our very sincerest thanks for your past and continued support!  All of PFD's achievements are only possible with generous support such as yours.  Please consider a gift to Plastic Free Delaware now so that 2026 can bring us even closer to a zero waste future with less single-use plastic pollution! 

• Senate Bill 51, introduced by Senator Trey Paradee and Representatives Paul Baumbach & Sophie Phillips, was passed and signed into law by Governor Carney. It bans the use of expanded polystyrene foam (EPS) (aka Styrofoam) and plastic picks, and allows plastic straws only by request in dining establishments

• Because food waste is 25% of what is sent to Delaware's landfills daily, Plastic Free Delaware (aka Zero Waste First State) continued building the Delaware Community Composting Initiative to provide educational programs, outreach and technical assistance to potential project sites to establish community composting projects and to encourage curbside composting.  Learn more here!

• Senate Bill 155 was passed bringing to life the Zero Waste Specialty Plate! Order Yours Today!

• The fourth annual Delaware Youth Environmental Summit (YES!) was attended by more than 500 high school students from 33+ high schools from across Delaware free of charge.  The Delaware Youth Environmental Summit (YES!) is aimed at engaging, inspiring and encouraging Delaware’s high school students to become active in making a difference regarding environmental issues.  Planning is now well underway for the fifth annual summit to be held February 29, 2024

• A variety of Monthly Lunch & Learn webinars were well attended and all of our virtual programs can be found on the PFD YouTube channel

• More than 4,500 Delaware residents were directly touched or participated in one of PFD's educational programs in 2023, from online webinars, to school programs, community festivals, and more

• Food waste reduction pilot projects were initiated at two schools, Wilmington Charter and Booker T. Washington Elementary in Dover

• The state's first community composting site was launched at Talley Day Park in North Wilmington

• 2023 Green Drinks virtual gatherings also attracted a similar monthly audience on a variety of environmental topics and are available on YouTube

• We all had a blast at the inaugural #OptOutside Black Friday 5K and raised funds to support our educational programs

All of PFD's achievements are only possible with generous support such as yours.  Please consider a gift to Plastic Free Delaware now so that 2024 can bring us even closer to a zero waste future with less single-use plastic pollution! 

• Because food waste is 25% of what is sent to Delaware's landfills daily, Plastic Free Delaware (aka Zero Waste First State) launched the Delaware Community Composting Initiative to provide educational programs, outreach and technical assistance to potential project sites to establish community composting projects and to encourage curbside composting.  Learn more!
   
• The plastic bag legislation passed in 2021 went into effect on July 1st and has already had an enormous positive impact: 
  “Our sanitation crews are thrilled!  They are seeing much less recycling contamination and they have noticed a big difference in the litter control.  The plastic bag legislation has been the most impactful thing ever in the City as far as trash goes.  I am a huge fan of what Plastic Free Delaware is achieving.  Keep up the good work!"  Kelly Williams, City of Wilmington, Director of Public Works
   
• Passed in 2021, Senate Bill 24 also went into effect this year on July 1st and banned the release of balloons, but even prior to that was shown to be having an effect through the increased public awareness and education surrounding consideration of the legislation.
  Data from beach cleanups by the Delaware Chapter of Surfrider Foundation indicates 1,088 balloons were collected during 56 beach cleanups in 2021, but as of October 2022 only 392 balloons had been found in 70 beach cleanups so far this year
   
• Senate Bill 134, introduced by Senator Trey Paradee and Representative Paul Baumbach, aimed to ban the use of expanded polystyrene (aka Styrofoam) and plastic picks, and allow plastic straws by request only in dining establishments sailed through the state Senate.  It was stalled in the House but laid the groundwork for legislation in 2023
   
• The Wild & Scenic Film Festival for Schools program was launched and brings inspiring independent films with environmental themes to all school grade levels free of charge.  Check it out and inquire about bringing it to your affiliated schools!
   
• The third annual Delaware Youth Environmental Summit (YES!) was attended by more than 360 high school students from eighteen high schools from across Delaware.  We were thrilled to be gathered back in person again after a year as a virtual summit.  The Delaware Youth Environmental Summit (YES!) is aimed at engaging, inspiring and encouraging Delaware’s high school students to become active in making a difference regarding environmental issues.  Planning is now well underway for the fourth annual summit to be held March 2, 2023
   
• PFD was excited to partner with Delaware Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation to launch the “Hold On To Your Butt” campaign aimed at reducing cigarette butt littering on Delaware’s beaches
   
• 2022 Monthly Lunch & Learn webinars were well attended and ranged in topics from Sustainable Fashion, Single-Use Plastic and its Role in Climate Change, Curbside Composting, the Surfrider Foundation's Ocean Friendly Restaurant Program, exploring Truth in Labeling issues, Delaware's oyster shell recycling programs, and more.  All of our online programs can be watched on the PFD YouTube channel
  
• 2022 Green Drinks virtual gatherings also attracted a similar monthly audience on a variety of environmental topics and are available on YouTube
   
• More than 3,100 Delaware residents were directly touched or participated in one of PFD's educational programs in 2022, from online webinars, to school programs, community festivals, and more
   
• And last but certainly not least, just this month, conversations and outreach by PFD advocates with Delaware's U.S. Senator Tom Carper, Co-Chair of the Senate's Environment & Public Works Committee, helped lead to the first ever Congressional hearing on plastic pollution reduction laying the groundwork for federal level legislation to reduce single use plastic pollution.