Plastic Pollution

C an you imagine a life without plastic? It’s permeated our lives like the air we breathe, like water we drink. The convenience of plastic, it’s durability and inability to deteriorate, is exactly why it’s one of the biggest problems we now need to address. Not only has it clogged up our landfills and we now need to clear more precious land to store it, it also percolates in the form of micro-plastics in our waterways, and ultimately our ocean. Did you know that there are 4 major garbage patches in the world’s oceans? The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is an island of plastic between Hawaii and Oregon that is three times the size of France. Scientists predict that there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean (in weight) by the year 2050. Let’s help do our part and reduce plastic. Avoid single-use plastic at all costs. Any plastic is harmful to our ecosystem, but styrofoam is the worst of it all, use plastic-free alternatives whenever available.

Title: Five Gyres Curriculum about plastic

Summary: This site may require lots of reading, but it really gets into the nitty gritty about how plastic is formed. Plastic is made from carbon, which we leach out of the earth through petroleum, and because it does not decompose, it keeps the carbon in our atmosphere.

Title: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

Summary: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is made of millions of tons of garbage swirling in a vortex in the Pacific Ocean, now three times the size of France! This link contains pictures, so if you need to get an idea of what it looks like, click on the title above!

Title: Essential Science: Time to ban glitter? A microplastic risk

Summary: Glitter is a part of most of our crafts and activities, and who doesn’t love glitter (me)? Learn the truth about glitter and find out the safe alternatives to glitter.

Title: A Dive Into The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

Summary: Read about Ben Lecomte’s great swim from Hawaii to San Francisco through the Great Pacific Garbage Patch!! It is just a tangled mess of plastic and other disowned items. Read about his great journey in the link below.

Title: Why Exactly Is Polyester So Bad for the Environment?

Summary: Did you know that there is plastic in your clothes? Yes! Polyester is what makes most clothes these days. Polyester is made of plastic fibers, making it bad for the environment. If you can, talk to your parents about buying used (secondhand) clothes. If you can REUSE, it’s the best option. Next best is to buy clothes made of 100% cotton. Worst thing is to buy new polyester clothes – anything with nylon, spandex and other synthetic fibers is bad. My family and I have been using ThreadUP my whole life, and you can send them like-new clothes you’ve grown out of so someone else can use them (and even get paid for it).

Title: Introduction to Composting

Summary: Brooke gives an introduction to composting at home.