It’s A Plastic World Beyond Recycling. Did you use any plastic today?
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Transcript of It’s A Plastic World Beyond Recycling. Did you use any plastic today?
It’s A Plastic World
Beyond Recycling
Did you use any plastic today?
Where does plastic come
from?
Lets find out more!
During the time of dinosaurs, swamps full of animals, peat and plant life were buried and began decomposing
The Path to Plastic
These were then buried
deep (10,000 feet) with layers of sediment
(broken down larger rocks)
Heat, time and pressure then turned
the organisms into fossil
fuels (petroleum)
Fossil Fuels?
• Release energy when burned• Eg. Coal, oil and natural gas• Meet 85% of our global
energy demands• Also known as petroleum or
crude oil
What do we use fossil fuels for today?
The products we use today are available because of a process that took millions of years ago
•Transportation
•Heating
•And PLASTIC!
The Process of Plastic
1.Petroleum is drilled and shipped through pipes to be made into ethane, propane and others
The Process of Plastic
2. With VERY HIGH heat, fuels are mixed with chemicals to create FLUFF
• The fluff looks like laundry detergent and can be packed into bales
The Process of Plastic
3. The fluff is melted with additives and made into little pellets.
The Process of Plastic
4. The pellets get shipped to factories where they melt and mold the pellets into plastic products. Other chemicals are added for colour and texture.
What usually happens to
plastic when we are done
using it?
Some can be recycled…
plastic recycling
Why should we recycle plastic?
• Reduce our fossil fuel use
• Reduce the chemicals needed to produce fluff
• Make pellets from used plastic materials
What happens to the plastic that doesn’t
get recycled?
Can the Earth decompose our plastic products?
No!
The earth can only decompose and reuse things that are natural, or from the earth
What happens to plastic that doesn’t get
recycled?• Plastic made from fossil fuels never
disappears, but breaks down (photo degrades) into smaller and smaller pieces.
• As the plastic breaks down, toxins and chemicals are released into the environment
• Plastic pellets, bags, toys, toothbrushes and more ends up on our land and in our oceans…
Lets see what really happens.. …
What is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch?
• A slowly moving, spiral of currents called the North Pacific Gyre.
• Is like a plastic ‘soup’ 30 meters deep.
• Known as the worlds largest garbage dump.
Some beaches have garbage 5 to 10 feet deep
THINK– Did you know about the plastic island? How
do you feel about it?
Let’s THINKPAIRSHARE
PAIR
– Who do you think is responsible for this ocean waste?
– How can we contribute to the solution in our own lives and in our community?
– How can we inform people about plastic?
SHARE
What can we do?
Let’s hear more solutions from a Green Gorilla!!