SALISBURY — Dianna Cohen, co-founder of Plastic Pollution Coalition, will speak at the Center for the Environment at Catawba College Sept. 29 on “Plastic pollution: Its impacts on our health and the health of our planet and what you can do.”

Plastic Pollution Coalition is a global alliance of individuals, organizations, businesses and policymakers working toward a world free of plastic pollution and its toxic impact on humans, animals, the ocean and the environment.

Cohen was inspired to co-found the group by her work as an artist because her chosen material is the plastic bag.

“Having worked with the plastic bag as my primary material for the past 25 years, all of the obvious references to recycling, first-world culture, class, high and low art give way to an almost formal process which reflects the unique flexibility of the medium,” she says.

She helps to raise awareness of ocean waste – the majority of which is non-degradable plastic – and everyday strategies to cut down the amount of single-use, disposable plastic we use and throw away.

Cohen received her bachelor of arts degree from UCLA. She has exhibited her works nationally and internationally in gallery, foundation and museum exhibitions in California, Hawaii, Alaska, Georgia, Australia, the Netherlands, Spain, Yugoslavia, Africa, New Zealand, Poland, France and Mexico.

The presentation, scheduled for 6:30 p.m., will be held in room 300 of the Center for the Environment building on the Catawba College campus. It is free and open to the public, but registration is required. To register, visit CenterForTheEnviroment.org or call 704-637-4791.

The Center for the Environment was founded in 1996 to educate the college community and the public about environmental stewardship and sustainability, provide value-added education for students through interaction with thought leaders and opportunities for experiential learning, and bring diverse people and groups together to catalyze sustainable solutions to our most persistent environmental challenges. For more information, visit www.CenterForTheEnvironment.org.