8. 100 billion plastic bags get used each year in the US. ACUTAL SIZE 100,000,000,000 Chris Jordan This is an artist’s visualization of what gets used in just five seconds
11. Great Pacific Garbage Patch A giant, eternal swirling spiral of floating trash Twice the size of the US and growing Home to an estimated 100 million tons of plastic
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13. There is 42 times more plastic than plankton at some spots in the North Pacific gyre. Source: Algalita Marine Research Foundation
29. REFUSE, REDUCE, REUSE… then RECYCLE THINK TWICE Do you really need a bag for your bag of chips? Ask the waiter to wrap in foil instead of styrofoam Do you really need the straw? Don’t buy things with excess packaging Buy the can instead of the bottle Shop at the farmer’s markets
30. Encourage EPR Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Companies that produce and package products are responsible for the costs of collecting and disposing of their packaging waste Motivates producers to reduce the amount of waste they produce Adopted by Germany in 1991 Packaging waste reduced 14%infirst four years Recycling rose to 75%
31. Spread the Word…with a SMILE Share what you’ve learned Lead by example Ask your friends and family to join you Speak to city council Write letters to government officials
33. You must be the change you wish to see in the world. - Gandhi -
34. For more information visit: www.riseaboveplastics.org www.greenambassadors.org www.surfrider.org www.algalita.org www.seaofconsequences.blogspot.com http://www.ewg.org/chemindex/term/468 PASS IT ON…
Notas del editor
We consume 50 billion water bottles every year in the US aloneThat’s almost 8,000 bottles every five secondsSOURCE: ^ "A Fountain On Every Corner", New York Times. Find A Fountain, May 23, 2008.
WHO CAN GUESS WHAT THIS IS
Plastic bagsApproximately 100 billion plastic bags are used in the United States each year. That’s just the US. Imagine what it is worldwide.SOURCE: EPAhttp://www.epa.gov/waste/nonhaz/municipal/pubs/mswchar05.pdf
Scary right?But here’s what’s even scarier. There are four more gyres that they believe may be just as bad.Thisyear Algalita Marine Research sailed to the North and South Atlantic Gyres, so we’ll soon have information on them as well
What does this look like? These are plastic bags, but they look a lot like jellyifshSee how easy it is to mistake plastic for food, and we KNOW what it looks likeImagine you are a fish and don’t know that plastic exists, you are doing to think it looks a lot like fish
SO, we’ve flooded your brain with some frightening facts. But here’s the good news. ITS REALLY EASY TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE. Start by BRINGING YOUR OWNWATER BOTTLES (safer, cheaper, look cool) ecousable sells cheap ones, we sell them too!BAG (for shopping, not just groceries, but clothes too); keep them in your car or bike basked: chico bags fold up and fit anywhere like your purseMUG or CUP for coffee shop (they’ll usually give you a discount) restaurants for soda tooTUPPERWARE or TIFFIN for leftovers or lunches instead to go boxesSILERWEAR (we make and sell our own fork and spoon pouches and you can use what you’ve got at home) this is a bamboo setKEEP a jar in your car with silverwear –use it for a cup and you’ve got what you need for a party)
Polylactic acid (PLA) = plastic substitute made from fermented plant starch (usually corn) PLA can “BIODEGRADE” into carbon dioxide and water within 3 months in an INDUSTRIAL COMPOSTING facility (heated to 140 degrees Fahrenheit and fed a steady diet of digestive microbes); currently just over 100 facilities in the US; PLA makes it wetter and acidicEstimated that it could take anywhere from 100 to 1,000 years to decompose in a landfill (According a Smithsonian study) + “renewable” resource; doesn’t emit GHG’s when incinerated#7 plastic, but will contaminate plastics if recycledUsually made from genetically modified cornSOURCE: Earth Talk. The Environmental Magazine, Smithsonian http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/10022381.htmlhttp://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/pla-corn-plastics-460608
Sources: An Implementation Strategy for the California Ocean Protection Council Resolution to Reduce and Prevent Ocean Litter July 24, 2008
Talk about the Green Ambassadors philosophy. It starts with you in the middle. Share what you learn, and empower others to share what they learn