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Take a moment, look up from your screen – how many things can you see that are made of plastic? Your laptop/iPad/phone, but look a little further … what else … bottles, containers, clothes, carpets, toys, kitchen equipment, packaging, furniture, bags … If you’re in your car – seating, panelling; if you’re outside – waste bins, pipes, signs, car tyres?
Do you think plastic is fantastic? In many ways ‘yes’– it can be moulded and shaped, it is versatile, hygienic, lightweight, flexible, durable… However, in other ways ‘no’. Plastic is causing many problems for our world – plastic rubbish, and even teeny-tiny plastic pieces called microplastics, are harming our wildlife, polluting our natural world and making climate change worse.
This week your challenge is to join THE BIG PLASTIC COUNT. Families, schools, businesses and community groups are all asked to count their plastic rubbish for a week – 16-22 May 2022. Watch this short BIG PLASTIC COUNT trailer to learn more. Recycling alone isn’t going to solve the plastic problem – we are producing too much plastic in the first place. By counting our plastic rubbish, we can help pressure the government, supermarkets and other big businesses to hurry up and tackle this growing problem. Sign up here - https://thebigplasticcount.com/sign-up.
As a Young Climate Warrior do you like being part of this sort of nationwide campaign? By joining with our wider community it’s an opportunity to help make our voices heard, and have a greater influence on the leaders of our country.
How do you think plastics contribute to climate change? Here are three main reasons. Firstly, carbon emissions are caused during the manufacturing, transportation and recycling of plastic products. Secondly, recent research suggests that microplastics (tiny fragments of plastic) are contaminating the plankton in the ocean, reducing the ability of the ocean to ‘store’ carbon. Thirdly, when plastic waste breaks down in landfill sites it releases methane and other greenhouse gases, making climate change worse. RECYCLING is a good start, but not the real solution - only about 15% of all plastics ever made have actually been recycled!
How was your ‘Plastic count’? … shockingly high, as you anticipated, or less than you thought? How does it feel to have been part of this nationwide campaign? HIT THE RED BUTTON and let us know – and do email us any photos!
