Plastics – Impacts

Warmup•Think about the following and answer in

your notebook.

•What types of plastic do we use most? •How can we reduce our use of single-use

plastics?

Plastic has a multitude of uses.

Where does plastic come from?•Petrochemicals

▫Fossil fuels (oil, gas) Non-renewable resource

•Unnatural chemicals▫Polymerization

What is plastic used for?•Characteristics

▫Strong, flexible, light, can float▫Long lifespan

•Uses▫Long term▫Short term

How long does plastic last?Type of Plastic Decomposition Time (yrs)Plastic beverage bottle 450Foamed plastic buoy 80Foamed plastic cup 50Plastic film container 20-30

How long is plastic used for?

Disposing of plastics is a problem

• Plastics don’t rot, so they build up in our environment if not disposed of properly.

• Plastics are not biodegradable and can take hundreds of years to break down.

Video Links•Plastic Oceans

▫https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwTDvqaqPlM

•Great Pacific Garbage Patch▫https://

www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkfAnQtIUCw•The Story of Bottled Water

▫http://storyofstuff.org/movies/story-of-bottled-water/

Plastic Assignment•Project Grade•Due 10/30•Keep a journal of the plastic you consume

in one week (this week).

CoverPlastic Journal

October 19 – 25, 2015

John DoeMarine Science

Period 1

Pages 1-3•Page 1: Table of contents•Page 2: What is the origin, usage and

lifecycle of plastic? •Page 3:How does plastic get out to sea?

What is the impact of plastic in the ocean?

Pages to track plastic (Pages 4-8)Monday, October 19, 2015

•Chart or list for every day▫Made of plastic or contain plastic▫illustrations encouraged.▫2 days can be on one page (Pages 4-7)

•Page 8: Chart for weekly total after all days

Plastic item Type QuantityWater bottle 1 2Egg carton 6 1

Consider your use•Page 9: Discuss your thoughts regarding

what you consumed and used in a week. Was it what you expected? More? Less?

•Think about how much you used and multiply it by the number of students in your school, the number of people in the town where you live, the number of people that live in Broward county, The number of people who live in Florida. Share these numbers and your thoughts on this.

Changing your use…•Page 10: Look back at the list of plastic

items you used this week and see if there are alternatives you could use instead.What did you use? What could you

use instead?What might prevent you from making this change?

Plastic kettle Metal kettle MoneyDisposable water bottle

Reusable water bottle

Convenience

Changing your use…• Page 11: Discuss in words which changes you are

likely to make and what the overall impact might be on your plastic consumption. Are you likely to share this change with others? Are there changes that other institutions could make to improve the problem with plastics?

• Discuss your thoughts on keeping this journal. What did you learn about plastic? What did you learn about human impact on the environment? What impact did this learning have on you as an individual? Are you likely to change any behaviors?

Types of plastic•Page 12: List and describe the

characteristics of the 7 types of plastic. What are they generally used for? Which are recyclable?▫Chart is acceptable

Plastic Assignment•Project Grade•Due 10/30•Keep a journal of the plastic you consume

in one week (this week).

•Set alarm on phone to remind you to jot down daily items.