2. Photo from AMRF
When did plastics become
so popular?Throwaway
Living
Post-war boom
in plastics
production

3. What’s Made of Plastic?

4. What is Plastic Made of?
SYNTHETIC
BIODEGRADEABLE

5. How many plastic beverage
bottles get used every year
in the US?
Q:
Chris Jordan

6. Chris Jordan
We use 50 billion
plastic beverage bottles
every year in the US
DETAIL
50,000,000,000

7. “But I Recycle…”.
What percentage of plastic
gets recycled in the US?

8. Less than 5%
of plastics are recycled…
CIWMB White Paper

9. Plastic recycling in China

10. (California Integrated Waste Management Board, “Plastics White Paper” 2003)
Municipal
Waste 50%
Recycled 5%
Made into
Goods 20%
Unaccounted
for 25%
Where our plastic waste goes

11. The “missing” 25%

12. LA Beaches After The Rain
Ballona Creek
Algalita
Santa Monica Beach
Ben Kay

13. 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

15. There is 42 times more
plastic than plankton at
some spots in the North
Pacific gyre.
Source: Algalita Marine Research Foundation

16. Chris Jordan

17. ChrisJordan
100 billion plastic bags get
used each year in the US.
100,000,000,000
ACUTAL SIZE
This is an artist’s visualization of what gets used in just five seconds

18. Surfrider Foundation

19. All of this (more than a half-pound of
plastic) was removed from the stomach
of an albatross, a large sea bird

20. How many marine
animals die every year
due to Plastic?
A. 100
B. 100,000
C. 1,000,000,000
Q:

21. B
100,000 marine mammals die each
year because of plastic litter in the
Pacific ocean alone.

23. How do
plastics
affect
our
health?

24. Toxic Plastics
Plastics Leech the Chemicals They Are Made Of
Bisphenol A (BPA)
• Plastic hardener
• Used in DVDs, canned food
lining, baby bottles, water
bottles
• Chemical found in 93% of
Americans over the age of 6
Phthalates
• Plastic softener
• Found in toys, food
packaging, shower curtains,
nail polish, hair spray and
shampoo, baby teething rings
These Chemicals are ‘hormone
mimickers’ that affect the
Endocrine System.

25. Plastic Bath
A study of 20 teens across America detected
they had phthalates (plastic) in their
blood and urine.
Look up your products at SKIN DEEP
www.cosmeticsdatabase.com

26. Bring Your Own…
• REUSABLE WATER
BOTTLE
• CANVAS BAG
• CUP OR JAR
• TUPPERWARE
• SILVERWEAR

27. Use Biodegradable (PLA)
Bioplastics are better, but not the answer
• Require INDUSTRIAL COMPOSTING
(140° and fed microbes)
• Cannot be recycled; can contaminate if mixed in
• “Renewable;” but genetically-modified
• Does not emit GHG’s
when incinerated
• Don’t break
down in
the water

28. 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
REFUSE, REDUCE, REUSE…
then RECYCLE

29. 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%
in first four years
– Recycling rose to 75%

30. Plastic Laws
• California: AB 1998:
Proposed a Ban on plastic
bags in major retail stores in
CA. This did not go through
Legislation.
• Los Angeles: Supervisors
ban Styrofoam in LA County
offices & concessions.
(Already banned in Berkeley,
Calabasas, Laguna Beach,
Malibu, Newport Beach,
Oakland, Palo Alto, San
Francisco, Santa Monica and
West Hollywood)

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

32. What will you
do to rise
above
plastics?
Share your Pledges with our
network!
Rise Above
Plastics
@RiseAbovePlstcs

33. Be the change you wish to see in the
world.

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…