10. (California Integrated Waste Management Board, “Plastics White Paper” 2003)
Municipal
Waste 50%
Recycled 5%
Made into
Goods 20%
Unaccounted
for 25%
Where our plastic waste goes
12. LA Beaches After The Rain
Ballona Creek
Algalita
Santa Monica Beach
Ben Kay
13. Great Pacific Garbage Patch
• A giant, eternal swirling spiral of floating trash
• Twice the size of the US and growing
• Home to an estimated 100 million tons of plastic
14.
15. There is 42 times more
plastic than plankton at
some spots in the North
Pacific gyre.
Source: Algalita Marine Research Foundation
17. ChrisJordan
100 billion plastic bags get
used each year in the US.
100,000,000,000
ACUTAL SIZE
This is an artist’s visualization of what gets used in just five seconds
24. Toxic Plastics
Plastics Leech the Chemicals They Are Made Of
Bisphenol A (BPA)
• Plastic hardener
• Used in DVDs, canned food
lining, baby bottles, water
bottles
• Chemical found in 93% of
Americans over the age of 6
Phthalates
• Plastic softener
• Found in toys, food
packaging, shower curtains,
nail polish, hair spray and
shampoo, baby teething rings
These Chemicals are ‘hormone
mimickers’ that affect the
Endocrine System.
25. Plastic Bath
A study of 20 teens across America detected
they had phthalates (plastic) in their
blood and urine.
Look up your products at SKIN DEEP
www.cosmeticsdatabase.com
26. Bring Your Own…
• REUSABLE WATER
BOTTLE
• CANVAS BAG
• CUP OR JAR
• TUPPERWARE
• SILVERWEAR
27. Use Biodegradable (PLA)
Bioplastics are better, but not the answer
• Require INDUSTRIAL COMPOSTING
(140° and fed microbes)
• Cannot be recycled; can contaminate if mixed in
• “Renewable;” but genetically-modified
• Does not emit GHG’s
when incinerated
• Don’t break
down in
the water
28. 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 at the farmer’s
markets
REFUSE, REDUCE, REUSE…
then RECYCLE
29. Encourage EPR
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)
– Companies that produce and package products are responsible
for the costs of collecting and disposing of their packaging waste
– Motivates producers to reduce the amount of waste they produce
• Adopted by Germany in 1991
– Packaging waste reduced 14%
in first four years
– Recycling rose to 75%
30. Plastic Laws
• California: AB 1998:
Proposed a Ban on plastic
bags in major retail stores in
CA. This did not go through
Legislation.
• Los Angeles: Supervisors
ban Styrofoam in LA County
offices & concessions.
(Already banned in Berkeley,
Calabasas, Laguna Beach,
Malibu, Newport Beach,
Oakland, Palo Alto, San
Francisco, Santa Monica and
West Hollywood)
31. 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
32. What will you
do to rise
above
plastics?
Share your Pledges with our
network!
Rise Above
Plastics
@RiseAbovePlstcs
34. For more information visit:
www.riseaboveplastics.org
www.greenambassadors.org
www.surfrider.org
www.algalita.org
www.seaofconsequences.blogspot.com
http://www.ewg.org/chemindex/term/468
PASS IT ON…
Editor's Notes
We consume 50 billion water bottles every year in the US aloneThat’s almost 8,000 bottles every five secondsSOURCE: ^ "A Fountain On Every Corner", New York Times. Find A Fountain, May 23, 2008.
And even when it is recycled, most of it is being shipped to ChinaWe are exporting our toxic waste
Scary right?But here’s what’s even scarier. There are four more gyres that they believe may be just as bad.Algalita Marine Research has sailed to the North and South Atlantic Gyres and has made it their mission to sail to each and every one to bring back information.
WHO CAN GUESS WHAT THIS IS
Plastic bagsApproximately 100 billion plastic bags are used in the United States each year. That’s just the US. Imagine what it is worldwide.SOURCE: EPAhttp://www.epa.gov/waste/nonhaz/municipal/pubs/mswchar05.pdf
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
SO, we’ve flooded your brain with some frightening facts. But here’s the good news. ITS REALLY EASY TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE. Start by BRINGING YOUR OWNWATER 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 setYou don’t have to go buy new products to be green. For example, KEEP an old peanut butter jar in your car with–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
-Change started with one person taking charge. -Requires companies to be responsible for cost and waste for the products they produce. Ex) a small memory card that comes packed in plastic, has to be in charge of the plastic its product produces. Sources: An Implementation Strategy for the California Ocean Protection Council Resolution to Reduce and Prevent Ocean Litter July 24, 2008
-Support Legislation that bans disposable plastic bags, bottles, and StyrofoamJust because it did not pass statewide, does not mean you cannot go to your city council and implement it in your community.
Talk about the Green Ambassadors philosophy. It starts with you in the middle. Share what you learn, and empower others to share what they learn
