A Plastic Ocean Reflection
A Plastic Ocean Reflection
- What scene from the film most personally affected you? Why?
The scene that personally impacted me most was the scene about converting the plastic ridden canals into parks. This scene was most impactful to me, because it showed that we still have hope. Seeing what some would consider a dump turned into a beautiful public garden is relieving, and shows that we still have time to turn our planet around.
- How much plastic did you use today? Do an plastic inventory.
| Hour | Plastic |
| 00:00 | – Part polyester blanket*
– Plastic water glass next to bed* – Plastic fan* |
| 01:00 | – Above |
| 02:00 | – Above |
| 03:00 | – Above |
| 04:00 | – Above |
| 05:00 | – Above |
| 06:00 | – Plastic cereal packaging**
– Plastic phone case (all day)* – Plastic earbuds (all day)* – Polyester shirt (all day)* – Plastic packaging for shower items** |
| 07:00 | – Plastic compass card*
– Plastic Spanish binder* – Polyester in backpack (all day)* – Plastic mechanical pencil (all day)* – Polyester in pencil case (all day)* |
| 08:00 | Above |
| 09:00 | Above |
| 10:00 | – Part plastic laptop (all day)*
– Plastic mouse (all day)* |
| 11:00 | – Plastic bag for cookies***
– Plastic box for lunch* |
| 12:00 | – See 7:00 & 10:00 |
| 13:00 | – Plastic pens* |
| 14:00 | – Plastic water bottle
– Plastic compass card* |
| 15:00 | – Plastic bubble tea glass***
– Plastic straw*** – Plastic compass card* |
| 16:00 | – Plastic milk packaging**
– Plastic cookie box** |
| 17:00 | – Plastic monitor*
– Plastic keycaps (keyboard)* – Part plastic cables* – Plastic water glass* |
| 18:00 | – Above |
| 19:00 | – Plastic packaging for various cooking ingredients***
– Plastic glass* – Plastic juice packaging** |
| 20:00 | – Plastic ice cream packaging*** |
| 21:00 | – See 00:00 |
| 22:00 | – See 00:00 |
| 23:00 | – See 00:00 |
- * – Reusable
- ** – More than one serving/not disposed after one use, still disposable (e.g. milk jug)
- *** – One use
- How can we as a school reduce our plastic consumption? What can you do personally? Why is this something we should care about? Use examples from the documentary to support your thinking.
Our school can reduce packaging in many ways, some of which are:
- Not using disposable water bottles, maybe opting for aluminum cans instead (awards assembly) – Plastic bottles making a significant impact on the ocean
- Less plastic packaging in cafeteria – Most of it goes into the garbage, leading to a landfill
- Make recycling bins more accessible (one in each class as opposed to one in the hallway; students are lazy) – Convenient access to bottle trade in = less litter
- More accountability for responsible disposal of waste
- Ban on one time use plastic water bottles and straws – They make up a significant portion of the plastic used
- Set up a bottle trade in system (students like money, even $0.20 per bottle would significantly reduce plastic waste) – Trade in systems reduce plastic thrown in the garbage/on the ground significantly, as there is a monetary incentive to trade in bottles.
Personally, I can reduce my plastic use in the following ways:
- Not using one time use plastic – While I have a minimal amount of one time use plastic, I can still reduce the amount that I use, especially bulk packaging. According to the documentary, one time use plastic is one of the worst forms of plastic for the environment.
- Recycling more – again, although I almost always recycle my plastic waste, I still do make a mistake here or there. Plastic which ends up in landfills can not be recycled, meaning that it ends up harming the environment.
- Use more glass/paper/other alternatives. Although reusable plastic is better than one time use plastic, using glass or metal for bottles, or paper for bags would be a good way to reduce my plastic footprint. This was suggested in the documentary.
Thoughtful info shared here. Thanks for sharing this!