Embedded Files
Get involved in the fight to stop plastic pollution!
Resources
Resources
Thank you to every single person who is helping to make a difference in the world right now, but especially to those who created websites, hosted webinars, and responded to emails that helped me learn as much as I know right now about the plastic problem. Thank you to my school teachers and parents for helping me and supporting me every step of the way of my journey learning about plastic. I couldn't have done this without you.
Since I learned so much from so many people, I would love to share my learning and experiences with you too, so you can go on your own journey learning about plastic.
Here are the amazing sources I used to find my information and helped me feel more confident in my learning and sharing.
Alternatives For Plastic
Alternatives For Plastic
The future is in reuse! While recycling and composting are good, reuse is even better. This organization has some really wonderful and powerful initiatives like Reuse Wins, The Reusies Awards, Reuse for Companies, and the Indisposable Podcast. Everything they do is wonderful and inspiring.
Ecovative Design was the first company I looked into that made alternatives for plastic. They make plastic out of the mycelium found in the roots of mushrooms. If you are interested you can go to their website, or check out these links (articles and podcasts):
The Mycelium Revolution Is Upon Us
Will Mycelium Materials Save the World?
If you want to learn more about bioplastics (plastic that can decompose) this article is long, but if you scan through they mention a lot of great companies that are making alternatives to plastic!
More alternative solutions!!! (And these are edible) NotPla is a great company that is featured in this article, so visit their website.
As I said, there are so many wonderful alternatives to plastic, and this article highlights some individual scientists that have been finding even more solutions!
Evoware is another company that is making alternatives for plastic out of seaweed. They are featured in the article above, and here is another resource that interviews the evoware team.
This is very incredible how they were able to make a bottle that looks identical to plastic... with one difference: it's made out of seaweed.
Interested in making your own bioplastics? Here's how!
If you need some extra inspiration to help you clear your house of single-use plastics, this website gives some helpful alternatives.
Recycling
Recycling
This resource was very helpful in writing my essay! If you want to learn more about recycling and EPR, read or listen to this article/podcast.
More problems with recycling... this webpage is great at giving a better understanding of the problems with recycling in a way that makes sense.
Another great resource that I used in my essay. After China stopped recycling America's plastic, what did we do then? What will we do now? These website proves the cons of recycling even further!
This video is incredible at describing why recycling has become such a problem! I watched this several times for many different reasons including persuading others, writing my essay, and other things. 100% recommend!
Is recycling really worth it? They debate both sides!
Statistics
Statistics
Do you want some shocking plastic statistics to persuade your peers that plastic is a huge problem? In the links above, National Geographic presents awful statistics along with photographs proving that plastic is not something we want. This year's geo challenge was also about Tackling Plastic
Want even more shocking statistics if others are not convinced yet? No Plastic Oceans (linked above) is the best place to go.
This article is great if you want a lot of good statistical information. If you are just looking for a graph, here is one of the many graphs they use on their website: This is what they predict plastic production will look like by 2050.
COVID-19 Related
COVID-19 Related
The Plastic Pollution Coalition is an amazing organization that I recommend using as a resource to learn more. In this article, Jackie Nuñez interviews her brother, restaurant owner Paul Nuñez. He explains how he keeps his restaurant sanitary and safe from COVID without using single-use plastics.
The CDC itself claimed that "there is no need to limit food service approaches to single use items and packaged meals". So all the arguments saying that single use plastic is more COVID-safe than reusables? Those are all false claims.
Other
Other
I found out about Beyond Plastics when Jennifer Congdon hosted a wonderful webinar for kids about the lasting effects of single-use plastic, and what we can do to help. Beyond Plastics is working with lots of other organizations like Ecovative to help solve the plastic problem. If you want to write a letter to your local grocery store (or any company) about single-use plastics, they have a great sample letter linked here.
In this video, David Katz addresses the ocean plastic problem and poverty at the same time. His company, Plastic Bank, pays those living in poverty to clean up the ocean. This Ted-Ed video explains the process he went through and how Plastic Bank works. It is super inspiring! Here is Plastic Bank's website.
If you wanted to stay updated on what the legal world (in Maine) is doing about plastic, the Natural Resources Council of Maine is the place to go. The webpage I linked above has to do with the ban on foam containers and single-use plastics bags.
This comic by Malaka Gharib is the inspiration for my plastic comic!
It is insane how much trash one person produces in a year! This article is pretty statistical and good to go over if you want some stats about trash.
If you want to know more about Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), this website is great! I used it a lot for writing my essay and it was really helpful.
Page updated
Report abuse