From Plastic Paradox to Collective Action

One year after Policy School Director Maria Ivanova asked us to rethink our relationship with plastic, she was one of 15 TEDx Boston Planet Action alumni who returned to the New England Aquarium to participate in an Impact Stories session and ask the hard questions: What has actually progressed? Where do we go from here?

In her TEDx Boston Ideas in Action Deep Dive talk “Shaping Policy from Neighborhoods to Nation,” Prof. Ivanova stressed a stark reality: we need campuses and companies to move from commitment to concrete action. She spotlighted the critical actions and innovations that must scale in this decisive decade, underscoring both the urgency and the possibility of building a regenerative, sustainable future.

The Plastics Center at Northeastern, which Prof. Ivanova co-directs with Prof. Aron Stubbins, offers a vital blueprint that demonstrates how universities can become laboratories for the systemic change we need to combat the plastic crisis. When academic institutions take ownership of the plastics challenge, she explained, they create ripple effects: educating the next generation of leaders, partnering with industry to pilot innovations, and proving that ambitious goals are achievable.

“But university success stories alone won’t get us there,” Prof. Ivanova stated. “Companies must match this momentum. The question isn’t whether organizations understand the plastics crisis—it’s whether they’re willing to transform their operations at the speed and scale this decisive decade demands.” Across all three days of Planet Action 2025, one theme emerged: we know what needs to happen. The innovations exist. The urgency is undeniable. What’s missing is the collective will to make innovative practices the standard, not the exception.

left to rigth: Rong Bao, Maria Ivanova, Sofia Metzler Concepción, Nicole Vandale