Think about the waste you toss in the trash during any given night out, from the plastic wristband that gets you in the door to the club and is inevitably cut off and thrown away to the plastic cups handed out at the bar that all end up in landfills.
Altogether, global nightlife generates countless tons of plastic waste. In New York alone, commercial establishments, including bars, clubs and other nightlife venues, are estimated to generate tens of millions of pounds annually. It’s a vibe killer, it’s terrible for the earth and it’s bad for the health of humans and wildlife.
Bye Bye Plastic, the non-profit organization co-founded by Blond:ish in 2019, is aiming to evolve the scene with the launch of Zero Plastic Club: NYC. Starting during Climate Week: NYC (Sept. 21-28), the initiative’s goal is to eliminate 42 tons of waste from New York’s nightlife industry every year by engaging the city’s nightlife community to focus on reducing and eliminating the use of plastic bottles, cups, wristbands and other single-use items left behind after events.
Expanding on a model that Bye Bye Plastic successfully launched in France, Zero Plastic Club: NYC is designed to help venues around the city phase out single-use plastics through shared commitments, peer support that will include twice-a-month meetings, tailored resources and one-on-one support, educational guides, and access to vetted plastic-free alternatives. Find more information on the project here.
Studies estimate that roughly 1.3 billion plastic bottles are used globally every day, with annual single-use plastic bottle production estimated at over 480 billion. The city of New York alone collects more than 36 million pounds of plastic waste annually, with commercial establishments, including nightlife venues, contributing millions of pounds. As government policy makes little progress in solving the issue, Zero Plastic Club aims to show that effective systemic change can start in clubs and cultural hubs.
The project’s call to action will be unveiled on Saturday (Sept. 27) during Climate Week NYC’s Marketplace of the Future, a collection of exhibitors dubbed “the world’s fair of sustainability.” Here, Bye Bye Plastic will premiere its short film and immersive installation “What You See Is NOT All There Is,” a project designed to show the hidden impact of plastics on health, culture and the environment. Bye Bye Plastic’s presence at Marketplace of the Future will also feature performances by Madame Gandhi, Eli Fola, Destructo, Eli SoulClap and Sage Bava.
The project aims to collect 3,000 signatures by Dec. 31 to demonstrate public demand for the program to be rolled out in New York City starting in 2026. You can sign the call to action here. Early supporters include the NYC Office of Nightlife; venues including House of Yes; and organizations like DJs for Climate Action, Future Meets Present, The Canvas NYC and OVO Vodka.
“The NYC Office of Nightlife supports Bye Bye Plastic Foundation’s Zero Plastic Club to promote sustainability and greener business practices, helping venues party with a purpose while also raising awareness among partygoers about how they can contribute to climate action goals,” says NYC office of nightlife’s executive director Jeffrey Garcia.
The model has a proven track record. In France, Zero Plastic Club helped 24 established nightlife and music venues eliminate more than a million single-use plastic items each year, an amount that’s estimated to save over 4.8 tons of CO₂eq emissions.
“I’ve traveled the world and experienced biodiversity, and I see it disappearing,” Blondi:ish says in a statement. “As artists and especially musicians, we can use the power of music to spread a message of awareness to the world. We have the ability to reach thousands of people in ways most can’t. I really feel that I can make a change — this is my passion and it’s not going anywhere.”
She adds that when she started using an eco-friendly rider for her shows, “100% of my events were using plastic. Now I’m down to 20%. And not even just in the DJ booth, but the actual entire event is single-use plastic-free.”
Bye Bye Plastic reports that the movement to implement more environmentally friendly riders drew support from more than 1,500 DJs and artists who demonstrated the clear demand for event producers to cut single-use plastics from hospitality.