The Problem With The Problem Plastic with Plastic

The Problem With The Problem. Plastic with Plastic

So what do you know about plastic? Question 1) What are plastics made of? Answer - Petroleum and Natural Gas Question 2) Where does most of this plastic end up? Answer – The Oceans Question 3) How much plastic is dumped in our oceans every year? Answer – 8 million tonnes Question 4) Which European country produces the most plastic waste person? Answer – Ireland (61 kg person in 2015) Question 5) Experts predict that there will be more plastic in our oceans than what by 2050? Answer – Fish! There is currently 1 tonne of plastic for every three tonnes of fish in our oceans!

• https: //ww 2. kqed. org/education/2017/04/14/how-much-plastic-do-youuse-in-a-day/

40% of all plastic goes directly into landfill sites! This is a recycling plant in Dublin. Much of what you see here though, cannot be recycled! The biggest culprits? In 2016, 95% of all Irish plastic waste was taken by China for recycling. China now refuses to take our waste, because of contaminated bins!

So how long does it take for plastic to decompose in a landfill site?

Check your timeline Fastest to decompose Did you get them in the right order? How long do you think it would take each item to decompose on a landfill site? Slowest to decompose

Time to Decompose TEA BAG WOOLEN SOCK 1 month BANANA SKIN 6 weeks 1 year APPLE CORE 2 months 0 2 months 4 months 6 months 8 months 10 months 12 months PLASTIC BAG 20 years MAGAZINES 50 years MOBILE PHONE PLASTIC BOTTLE 1000 years 450 years 0 200 years 400 years 600 years 800 years 1000 years

A lot of plastic ends up in our oceans! https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=YFZS 3 Vh 4 lf. I

How is plastic linked to climate breakdown? Carbon emissions from: Extraction Manufacture Transportation Over consumption

Which SDGs will be helped by tackling the issue of plastic, especially the over consumption of single use plastic?

Target 12. 5 - By 2030, substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse Indicator 12. 5. 1 - National recycling rate, tons of material recycled

https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=Rr 5 Py 1 r 9 xjw

The average number of single use plastic items per school = 838 The average number of reusable plastic items per school = 212 St Louis schools on average are using four times as much single use plastic as they are reusable plastic!