How a 10-year-old Canadian girl is fighting to eliminate grocery store produce stickers
CTV
At 10 years old, Maya Thiru is leading her own plastic pollution campaign alongside a Canadian environmental advocacy organization that ultimately aims to ban plastic stickers seen on fruits and vegetables in grocery stores.
She may have only been on this Earth for about a decade, but Maya Thiru is already making it her mission to care for the environment.
To further tackle single-use plastic waste, 10-year-old Thiru is leading an initiative, ‘Maya’s Plastic Pollution Campaign’ supported by Friends of the Earth, a Canadian environmental advocacy organization, which aims to build awareness of the harm of plastic stickers on fruits and vegetables in grocery stores.
“Maya is part of the upcoming generation of environmental activists dedicated to protecting people and the planet,” said Beatrice Olivastri, CEO of Friends of the Earth Canada, in a press release. “All of us here at Friends of the Earth Canada are inspired and excited to be working with such a bright and dynamic young woman.”
As of December 2022, the Single-Use Plastics Prohibition Regulations (SUPPR) came into effect, meaning single-use checkout bags, cutlery, foodservice ware, stir sticks, and straws, as defined in the regulations, are no longer allowed in grocery stores and other establishments.
While this regulation is seen as a big win in the effort to reduce Canada’s plastic waste, Thiru’s campaign is taking it one step further.
After visiting the grocery store with her mother, Thiru was shocked that every produce item - from avocados to apples - had a little plastic sticker on it.
They’re called price look-up codes (PLUs) and they are for for inventory and check-out purposes, but their impact on the climate can be consequential.
