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Park Over Plastic® is an initiative among Park staff, vendors and community members like you to help reduce our plastic footprint and improve the health of the Hudson River.

As we celebrate the third anniversary of choosing Park Over Plastic, we are excited to announce a new resource to our community. We developed the Park Over Plastic Toolkit to share actionable tools that help address our plastic pollution problem. It is designed to support parks, businesses, organizations and other groups that are looking to expand efforts to reduce plastic waste. We invite you to use the resources available in this Toolkit to best serve the needs of your community.

What we’re doing in HRPK

  • Distribute our Toolkit to expand the Park Over Plastic Initiative beyond the Park
  • Further community engagement with increased signage and educational programs
  • Increase the number of Green Partner tenants who are committed to Park sustainability
  • Continue exploring best practices for plastic reduction and recycling
  • Continue research with partners and community members to track Park waste and study the effects of plastic pollution in the Sanctuary

Globally, plastics are threatening the health of our waterways.

  • Since the 1950s, 8.3 billion metric tons of plastic have been produced and virtually every piece ever made still exists in some shape or form
  • Almost 2 million single-use plastic bags are distributed around the world every minute
  • Globally, 73% of beach litter is plastic debris such as beverage bottles, styrofoam and fishing equipment
  • Over 30,000 pieces of plastics have been counted, categorized and removed from Hudson River Park’s shoreline since 2015
  • By 2050, there will be more pieces of plastic in the ocean than fish (by weight)

  Park Over Plastic News

  • Published the POP Toolkit: As we celebrate the third anniversary of this initiative, we’re excited to release our Toolkit! Click here to start a plastic-reduction initiative in your organization using our free, comprehensive guide.
  • Increased Park Waste Receptacles: We rolled out more recycling and trash bins to encourage proper waste disposal. Easily recycle at one of our 220 bins distributed throughout the Park.
  • Green Partners: Park tenants are invited to be Green Partners, committing to plastic reduction in the Park. This year, we increased our members by nearly 20%.

Below you’ll find ways to get involved & learn more. Be a part of our #ParkOverPlastic #SingleUseless community:

As a member of our Park community, you can make a huge difference in reducing our plastic footprint (and your own!).

Plastic pollution harms our local waterways and wildlife. The Park is committed to addressing this issue through microplastic research, shoreline debris surveys and the Park Over Plastic initiative.

Hudson River Park provides numerous resources to help educate the impact that singe-use plastic has on the Hudson River and beyond.