Ocean Friendly Establishments

Plastic Is Drowning the Planet—Ocean Friendly Establishments Are Here to Save It

by Shelby Diehl

This lake is covered with plastic bottles.

photo © [Stéphane Bidouze] Adobe Stock

Plastic is drowning the planet and this is, in part, because of the ignorance of corporations and their contracted businesses neglecting the need to reduce their waste. Enter Ocean Friendly Establishments (OFE), a community-based certification that gives businesses that reduce their plastic and practice sustainable options the recognition they deserve.

The initiative was launched in 2015 in partnership with OFE’s parent organization, Plastic Ocean Project. The first certified establishment was the Blockade Runner in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, and the program has since expanded across the country. The non-profit has racked up over 200 ocean-friendly certified businesses from the east to west coasts, with over 100 of these in the Cape Fear Region alone, and ongoing efforts to establish OFEs in Alaska.

Lala & Elm owners Erica, Alexis and Claire stand inside their business holding their Ocean Friendly Establishments certificate.

photo by Karly Lohan

Ocean Friendly Establishments was founded based on concerns about the immense amount of plastic polluting the Earth. This is a selfregulated initiative, andbusinesses are encouraged to ensure all employees are educated about and adhering to the initiative. In an effort to reduce plastic pollution nationwide, the owners and managers of certified OFEs agree to reduce plastic waste in their businesses by only serving straws upon request.

Straws are just the start. Restaurants and businesses that practice additional eco-conscious practices can earn up to five stars based on how many actions they’re taking. These actions may include vegan or vegetarian menu options, bathrooms with air dryers, no styrofoam, and non-plastic and/or biodegradable bags, silverware, food and beverage containers. For one star, two to three criteria must be met whereas for five stars, 10+ criteria must be met.

“The star rating has been a great system in our OFE certifications,” says Cate Arnold, the Community Outreach Committee Chair for the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) Plastic Ocean Project Chapter. “We understand that sustainability can be implemented at all different levels and in various ways, so this star system helps us be inclusive and serves as motivation to be more ocean-friendly.”

Ocean Friendly Establishments is chapter-based, relying on their chapters to conduct outreach in their communities. Their main chapter is located in Cape Fear, North Carolina, with chapters spanning up-and-down the North Carolina coast and beyond. But these chapters are just the start, with chapters expanding into Canada, this initiative is becoming practiced across the globe.

“Establishing multiple chapters has expanded the reach of our mission across the North Carolina coast and beyond,” says Karly Lohan, an OFE committee member and coordinator. “These relationships also provide excellent volunteer and networking opportunities to our student volunteers with UNCW Plastic Ocean Project and Cape Fear Community College Plastic Ocean Project Chapters, who contribute so much to our program.”

Cape Fear Community College’s Plastic Ocean Project chapter was founded within the past couple years with the mission of supporting the main organization with outreach initiatives in the Cape Fear region. The UNCW Plastic Ocean Project chapter has been long established with a dedicated committee, the Community Outreach Committee, to support OFE.

“This committee benefits the organization because it allows students to lend a helping hand and even poses the opportunity for student internships with the OFE team,” says Arnold. “Overall, the students also benefit by getting volunteer experience and expanding their own knowledge of incorporating ocean-friendly practices in a business.”

Adapt Kitchen & Juice Bar owners Chris and Elie stand in front of their business holding their Ocean Friendly Establishments certificate.

photo by Karly Lohan

Ocean Friendly Establishments’ impact on the community is renowned, seen in the number of businesses and restaurants they’ve reached and influenced in North Carolina and beyond. The self-regulated mindsets help build habits in not just the business owners, but in the employees and guests who frequent these locations. And in the end, breaking plastic habits can create a vast wave of change, saving our planet as a result.

“Addressing the plastic waste is more important now than ever because we have the technology and research to show us the negative impacts that plastic pollution has on our communities, bodies, and environments,” says Lohan. “We have a responsibility to use that information and act as good stewards of the environment for our generation, but more importantly future generations. Researchers have predicted there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish by the year 2050; that is not a statistic we can ignore.”

For more about Ocean Friendly Establishments, visit oceanfriendlyest.com.

Shelby Diehl is a junior at the University of North Carolina Wilmington studying environmental science with a concentration in conservation and creative writing with a certificate in publishing. She is a Going Green intern and plans to pursue a career in environmental writing that will allow her to advocate for environmental causes worldwide.