Response to “Bag It” screening:
The video was extremely eye-opening and quite frankly terrifying. I was always familiar with the threat that plastics and their disposal pose for the environment, however the extent to which this issue was affecting human and marine life, as depicted in the video was shocking. There are several key points that I acquired from the video. Firstly, the data about the high number of hazardous chemicals present in everyday plastic items we use: from soda bottles and product packaging to baby toys. As stated in the video, nearly all everyday household items made from plastic contain high levels of BPA and Phthalates. These chemicals end up in the human body after the life cycle of the plastic is completed: from when it it first thrown in the recycling bins to when it is discarded in the ocean and absorbed by marine life that ultimately ends up on our plates. This harmful intake of hazardous waste over prolonged periods of time will affect not only the health of our future generations through complications such as heart problems and infertility, but also decrease the levels of masculinity in young boys, studied have shown. Furthermore, the video drew attention to the frightening occurrence of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, where non-biodegradable material circulates through the ocean currents, reaching insurmountable distances and threatening the biodiversity of our oceans.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the documentary and the comedic yet grave tone it employed. It was a wake-up call that the issue of inaccurate plastic disposal is omnipresent and it is our responsibility as a generation to reduce the everyday waste we consume, so as not to contribute to the disposal of plastics in our environment and oceans.
Response to Vice Video:
The video drew attention to the massive shift in the recyclable plastic disposable industry, after China’s announcement that it would no longer accept a long list of plastic and paper waste. The country implemented stricter guidelines for the type and cleanliness of the waste it was willing to take, in an attempt to alleviate the country’s environmental issues. The video was important as it highlighted the fact that developed countries were now prompted to take responsibility for their trash and invest in recycling facilities locally, which would dispose of the trash in a sustainable way. This realization caused multiple recycling companies in the U.S. to scramble to find places to store and process heaps of plastics, a problem they previously seldom had to face.
Response to National Geographic Article:
The article also referenced the turmoil that occurred after China’s announcement that after 25 years of importing the rich world’s plastic waste, they would be imposing strict guidelines on what is accepted, now denying 24 types of plastic. Previously, China took in 45% of the world’s plastics. A sad truth presented in the article is that only 9% of the world’s plastics are recycled. With recycling fees rising, once-exportable plastics in the U.S. are being transported to landfills, where they end up in the environment, recycling markets no longer posing lucrative alternatives. A frightening study by Nat Geo reporter Jambeck showed that as much as 12 million metric tons of plastic winds up in our oceans. Lastly, the article introduced the term “single-stream recycling” which mixed paper, glass and plastics together, which reduces the amount of waste but creates less pure an d valuable recycled product that rarely gets made into new products. The hardships encountered when attempting to dispose of plastic waste should serve as motivation t use less plastic overall, encouraging greater taxes on plastic waste that is still imported, as well as funding to support the creation of waste management infrastructure.
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