Dinosaurs to Plastic

Rocky Mountain Education Series 2008

Recycling: Millions of Years Old

• Can you think of an example of recycling that has been happening for MILLIONS of years?

Nature recycles EVERYDAY.

It is an example of some of

the best recycling on earth.

How Does Nature Recycle?

• Can you think of ways that nature recycles? – Turning leaves, plants and fallen trees into

nutrient-rich soil– Decomposing animal remains– Cycling water through plants, into the

atmosphere and back to earth by rain or snow

diagram

Can the Earth recycle our plastic products?

No!

The earth can only decompose and reuse things that are natural, or from the earth

The Path to Plastic

1. During the time of dinosaurs, swamps full of animals and plant life were buried and began decomposing

2.These were then buried deep (10,000 feet) with layers of sediment (broken down larger rocks)

3. Heat, time and pressure then turned the organisms into fossil fuels (petroleum)

What are 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

Dinosaurs to energy?

What do we use fossil fuels

for today?– Transportation– Heating – And PLASTIC!

The products we use today are available because of a process that took millions of years

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 Process of Plastic

• The fluff looks like laundry detergent and can be packed into bales

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

• High heat and pressure is used to mold the plastic

• Lots of other chemicals are added for colour and texture.

When we recycle plastic we:• Reduce our fossil fuel use• Reduce the chemicals needed to produce fluff• Make pellets from used plastic materials

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 are released into the environment

• Plastic pellets, bags, toys, toothbrushes and more ends up on our land and in our oceans…

The scary part…

• Much of the plastic that doesn’t get recycled floats out into the ocean

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.

• The worlds largest garbage dump.

• Is now twice the size of the USA.

• 80% of the garbage comes from land and 20% from ships.

THINK– Did you know about the plastic island? How

do you feel about it?

Let’s hear about this ocean current from a

Gorilla!!

Some beaches have garbage 5 to 10 feet deep

• Image of photo degraded plastic in water

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• How can we help?

– Reusable bottle for our water

– Reuse bags, or using cloth bags while shopping

– Recycle as much plastic as possible

– Choose less packaging