Marina McCoy
Starting 2020 with a bang, Marina McCoy was named a pioneer and expert in her field by the Burlington Free Press. In March 2020, she was awarded Vermont’s Young Entrepreneur of the Year, along with being nominated for 1% For The Planet’s Pinnacle Award: Unleash Passion Every Day.
Marina McCoy is an award-winning, Sustainability Strategist and Founder/CEO of Waste Free Earth. She has been living zero-waste for the past six years and loves sharing her enthusiasm for waste reduction with anyone willing to learn through workshops, speaking engagements, and social media outlets. Â
​Her main passion is creating sustainable strategies for events and businesses; from small community events, to weddings, corporate events, and music festivals with over 100,000 attendees. By working in the sustainability field for over half a decade, she has developed proven strategies that lower the environmental impact and reduce overall waste consumption at each event she works with.
​She also creates sustainability-focused content for brands through writing blog posts, creating social media posts, cultivating mindful engagements on websites and being a spokesperson for certain brands that align with her values.​
In Marina’s words:
I am an award-winning, Sustainability Strategist and Founder/CEO of Waste Free Earth. I have been living zero-waste for the past six years and love sharing my enthusiasm for waste reduction with anyone willing to learn through workshops, speaking engagements, and my social media outlets.  For more than half a decade, I have been building custom sustainable strategies for events and businesses all throughout the United States, helping lower their overall waste consumption and environmental impact.
324: Marina McCoy, part 1: A Waste-Free Earth Through Music
I can’t tell you how refreshing it is to talk to someone who finds ways to do more, not to get credit for what she’s already done.
Overwhelmingly, conversations with people about acting on our environmental values seem to find it begrudging—a burden, a chore, deprivation, sacrifice. They imply things like, “God, how much more do I have to do?”, “Isn’t it okay to use compostable?”, “It’s so complicated.”, etc.
Even people who have acted and enjoy the outcome tend to talk about how much they’ve done, often implying since they’ve done more than most that they deserve congratulations or a chance to rest on their laurels.
Few people sound like they like acting on their environmental values.
When you’re eating a delicious, healthy meal, you don’t say “I’ve eaten the appetizer, how much more do you want from me” or “Isn’t it okay to take a small bite without eating more?” Every bite leads you to eat more.
If you enjoy a walk in the woods, you don’t say “Now that I’ve done it do I have to keep doing it?”
Talking with Marina is a breath of fresh air. Talking with her about acting environmentally is like talking about someone who loves their food or walk in the park.
She loves finding ways to steward. She doesn’t try to find ways to stop and say she’s done enough. She enjoys doing more. I had to bring her on. I found the conversation getting more engaging as it went on, which is why I let it go longer.