Many U.S. cities are taking steps to ban plastic grocery bags. National Geographic Magazine infographic by Jason Treat and Ryan T. Williams Powered by Background Info Vocabulary Idea for Use in the Classroom This is the world we see. Good stuff, easy to do. That wasnt the intent. While the efforts to change consumer behavior helped clean up the more visible litter problem, they did little to address the root cause. The Hollywood Reporter'The film everyone needs to see.' That was one of the comments early, that it implied that those products were being recycled. For the oil and gas industry, the stakes are higher, too, because single-use plastic is their Plan B. Carl F. Cranor, Professor of Philosophy, Faculty of Environmental Toxicology Graduate Program, University of California-Riverside'Plastic Paradise warns that the environment is everyone's responsibility, and that humanity cannot turn a blind eye to its own garbage forever. Starring Angela Sun Wallace J. Nichols. New to Docuseek? National Geographic Society is a 501 (c)(3) organization. A lot of that waste is ending up in the ocean. I would say that this package is rarely recycled in most parts in the country. The image of plastics among consumers is deteriorating at an alarmingly fast pace, it says. That needs to be. Once in the ocean there is really no way to get it out, other than hope that it washes up on a shore and is collected. I strongly recommend this film as an instructional tool to connect ecology, communication, and global service. A lot of Americans do this, like what you're doing right now. It was created. So let's take a look at these blueberries. 1996 - 2023 National Geographic Society. And Liesemer found a solution. Looking back, do you think putting the banner on the Mobro was a mistake? A growing backlash was threatening the future of plastic. Greenpeace went and climbed aboard it and took a huge banner that we put on it. Waste pickers would look for plastics of value, and the rest would be burned. What would happen if the corals died off? How does this conflict compare to what you saw happen in the '80s and '90s when this last came up with this kind of fervor? Were they? Added to the plastic consumer goods swirling and settling in the way-beyond, are the estimated 640,000 tons of discarded plastic and nylon commercial fishing nets, many weighing more than a ton each, that snag on and break life-giving coral reefs, and entrap and kill larger marine animals. At the time, it was one of the few atolls in the world unspoiled by human activity. and came up with a report identifying key problems with the numbering code. And Im afraid that the same thing is happening right now. A dead seal or sea lion? We dont want that. ; "Plastic Paradise"; Bullfrog Films. This is from California. Welcome to EPAs 2019 America Recycles Innovation Fair. And I think whats good is that were all working together to help improve some of those recycling habits and understanding behavior. And they said no. EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler was talking up the future of recycling. We reached out to more than a dozen major plastic makers; the only one that would sit down with us was Chevron Phillips. No transcript available. ", Another said "there are no effective market mechanisms for mixed plastic. The sacks are from a plastic company. Busy lifestyles and a growing urban population mean an increase in demand for food that is fresh. This million-dollar plastic sorting system in Salem is the first of its kind in the world. This is the same kind of thinking that ran in the '90s. Have we made any progress? Earth Day was one of the largest mass protests in U.S. history. Jon and Jo Ann Hagler on behalf of the Jon L. Hagler Foundation. If you have questions about how to cite anything on our website in your project or classroom presentation, please contact your teacher. That code was a numbering system put inside the well-known symbol for recyclingthe chasing arrows. Eighty plastic bags found inside the whale. They float in the water and get eaten by sea life. There are a lot of different kinds of plastics that have to be sorted. Itll be great. See it and share it with others!' The Hollywood Reporter'The film everyone needs to see.' plastic became the unrivaled material of choice for consumers. Considering the creation of plastic was used as a substitute for . Global Environmental Justice: Plastic Paradise [Speaking Indonesian] If its not useful, we put it into the community. Plastic Paradise makes the issue of plastic pollution real and relevant. If a media asset is downloadable, a download button appears in the corner of the media viewer. Teaching Sociology 2020 48: 3, 259-261 Download Citation. They cause two problems. The recycling system that we have at the moment, its not really recycling because some part of it exportedbeing exported all over the world to be "recycled," but you never know whether its really being recycled overseas or not. What about all of these? Youre saying youve got plenty as it is? Making recycling work was a way to keep their products in the marketplace. In small groups, explore the impact of ocean plastics on coral reef species by having students research the impact of ghost nets on sea turtles, the ingestion of plastic by Pacific seabirds, and the ingestion of plastic particles by coral polyps. You cannot download interactives. In the business, theyre called "mixed plastics. Even if there was, how do we put a price on an albatross? We've got to fix the recycling system; clearly that's job one. This is the first time youve ever seen companies from across the whole supply chain all coming together to say, "We need to fix this.". Yeah, yeah. I wanted to understand how we came to this moment; how the plastic industry has been able to thrive all these years in the face of a growing crisis and opposition thats now stronger than its ever been. Starting in the late '90s, Bagaria and other recycling brokers had a one-word answer to the growing plastic waste problem: China. Oh, yes. That's a 3,000% increase in just a few short years. Ive got a couple of newspaper articles I want to show you from the past. But more than half of all people that live in the Portland area believe this belongs in the curbside container. This is a documentary that should be seen by educators, students, politicians, and environmentalists alike. Plastic Paradise: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch DOCUMENTARY The invention of synthetic plastic created an era of disposable products. Plastic Paradise Worksheet.pdf - Plastic Paradise 1 Why is Vinod Singh is the outreach manager at Far West Recycling. // ]]> Thousands of miles away from civilization, Midway Atoll is in one of the most remote places on earth. And when it comes to understanding and reducing the environmental impacts of materials, including packaging, consumers have the lowest amount of leverage. So this is classic. We have to show hard results. Please inquire if you are with a K-12 district or school or with a public library. My college age son thinks it is 'right on.' The film provides graphic proof of this phenomenon. So, contaminated plastic trash is as big a problem for you guys as narcotics and drugs coming into the country. I guess I think of it more as an investment in managing plastic waste. I think others were more hopeful. Our member companies, SABIC and Shell and LyondellBasell, all of whom have made major announcements in traditional and advanced recycling to begin to intervene in that space in order to bring their scale, their technical know-how and their capacity to start providing products that are based on waste. Along the way she meets scientists, researchers, influencers, and volunteers who shed light on the effects of our rabid plastic consumption and learns the problem is more insidious than we could have ever imagined. Let's just go knock and see if maybe someone will talk to us. Producers should disclose the environmental impacts of their materials publicly. The table is set with polyethylene products, too. ", "Thoughtful new documentary by @sunnyangela examines the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, @plasticdise plasticparadisemovie.com #ppgp2", "Offers some alarming information that might cause viewers to think twice, about buying one-time-use water bottles.