5. Q: How many plastic beverage bottles get used in the US every five minutes? Chris Jordan HINT: How many plastic bottles can you count in this picture?
6. DETAIL Two million plastic beverage bottles get used in the US every five minutes. 2,000,000 Chris Jordan
26. Used in DVDs, canned food lining, baby bottles, water bottles
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29. Toxic Toys CLOTH ERNIE Europe Mexico, Argentina, Japan, Canada EU Banned phthalates in 1999 PLASTIC ERNIE US (Made with Phthalates) California passed a law in 2008, loopholes still make it possible to sell toys with phthalates in US
35. REFUSE, REDUCE, REUSE… then RECYCLE THINK TWICE Do you really need a bag for your bag of chips? Ask the waiter to wrap in foil instead of styrofoam Do you really need the straw? Don’t buy things with excess packaging Buy the can instead of the bottle Shop farmer’s markets
36. Encourage Extended Producer Responsibility Extended Producer Responsibility Companies that produce and package products are responsible for the costs of disposing of and recycling their packaging and products Adopted by Germany in 1991 recycling rose to 75% Assembly Bill 283 proposed in US Leave it Behind To pass EPR, German government requested that people leave all the packaging that their products come in behind at the stores to put the pressure on manufacturers.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJaI-Ohggd4
37. Spread the Word…with a SMILE Share what you’ve learned Lead by example Ask your friends and family to join you Speak to city council Write letters to government officials
38. I will rise above plastics by… Rethinking the products I buy Refusing single use plastics Using reusable canteens Using reusable bags. Recycling & reusing the plastic bags I already have. Sharing the knowledge I’ve gained today with others
39. You must be the change you wish to see in the world. - Gandhi -
40. For more information visit: www.greenambassadors.org www.surfrider.org www.algalita.org www.riseaboveplastics.org www.seaofconsequences.blogspot.com http://www.ewg.org/chemindex/term/468 PASS IT ON…
Editor's Notes
The picture on bottom depicts the two million plastic beverage bottles that get used in the US every five minutes.The photo on top shows the bottles close upImagine if you took 300 of these, that’s what we use in the US in one day…now imagine if you added the rest of the world.
WHO CAN GUESS WHAT THIS IS
This picture shows 60,000 bags, the number that we use every 5 seconds in the USThe photo on top shows the actual detail up close
Some plastics are more recyclable than others #1 and #2 are the most common plastics and most easily recycledAvoid #3 and #6…they leech the chemicals they are made ofSome plastics cost more to recycle than it does to make a new one (for example a plastic bag)In today’s economy a lot of plastics aren’t worth any money, so while they are collected, some may not actually get recycled.When we took a field trip to Puente Hills our sophomore year, we learned that the plastics that are collected in Los Angeles get shipped to China to be recycled.1 - PET or PETE (polyethylene terephthalate)Commonly recycled, in CA you get a redemption value for recycling2 - HDPE (high density polyethylene)Commonly recycled; low risk of leaching and is readily recyclable into many goods.3 – V (Vinyl) or PVC:Rarely recycled and highly toxic (can release highly dangerous dioxins)- LDPE (low density polyethylene)Rarely recycled5 – PP (polypropylene)Sometimes recycled, high melting point6 - PS (polystyrene)Mostly not accepted; can leach potential toxins into foods7- MiscellaneousSometimes recycled; includes polycarbonate (hard plastic which leaches potential hormone disruptors) Also include compostable plant based plastics, which do no get recycled.
The photo on the bottom depicts the amount of plastic that enter the world's oceans each yearEach little piece of plastic here represents a pound.All of the plastic in this image was collected from the Pacific Ocean.The photo on the top shows the photo closer up, you can see the pieces of plastic…imagine all that plastichttp://www.howstuffworks.com/framed.htm?parent=great-pacific-garbage-patch.htm&url=http://oceans.greenpeace.org/en/our-oceans/pollution/trash-vortex
What does this look like? These are plastic bags, but they look a lot like jellyifshSee how easy it is to mistake plastic for food, and we KNOW what it looks likeImagine you are a fish and don’t know that plastic exists, you are doing to think it looks a lot like fish
Bring Your Own…WATER BOTTLES (safer, cheaper, look cool) ecousable sells cheap ones, we sell them too!BAG (for shopping, not just groceries, but clothes too); keep them in your car or bike basked: chico bags fold up and fit anywhere like your purseMUG or CUP for coffee shop (they’ll usually give you a discount) restaurants for soda tooTUPPERWARE or TIFFIN for leftovers or lunches instead to go boxesSILERWEAR (we make and sell our own fork and spoon pouches and you can use what you’ve got at home) this is a bamboo setKEEP a jar in your car with silverwear –use it for a cup and you’ve got what you need for a party)
Polylactic acid (PLA) = plastic substitute made from fermented plant starch (usually corn) PLA can “BIODEGRADE” into carbon dioxide and water within 3 months in an INDUSTRIAL COMPOSTING facility (heated to 140 degrees Fahrenheit and fed a steady diet of digestive microbes); currently just over 100 facilities in the US; PLA makes it wetter and acidicEstimated that it could take anywhere from 100 to 1,000 years to decompose in a landfill (According a Smithsonian study) + “renewable” resource; doesn’t emit GHG’s when incinerated#7 plastic, but will contaminate plastics if recycledUsually made from genetically modified cornSOURCE: Earth Talk. The Environmental Magazine, Smithsonian http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/10022381.htmlhttp://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/pla-corn-plastics-460608
