Tedford+Addicted+to+Plastic

1. The title of this film was __Addicted to Plastic.__ It was directed by Ian Connacher and released in 2008. 2. The central argument of this film revolved around our addiction to plastic. I found many portions of this film compelling because of the level of innovation that we are allowed to have with plastic as far as recycling it into new products. Mr. Connacher traveled around the United States and abroad for 2 years researching plastic and where it goes. The answers span as deep as the oceans and as far as parts of India, and in a system that seems broken it's enlightening to know there is hope. 3. This film drew out a few sustainability problems: 4. I found many parts of this film to be compelling. The idea that all of the plastic ever created is still in existence, including that small red toy tricycle you probably had when you were three. Only a small percentage of plastic in the US is recycled (less than 5%!?) and only a small percent is incinerated. Patagonia's initiatives toward creating eco-friendly apparel was really intriguing because I'm always looking for consumer-conscious purchasing as far as clothing. I recently discovered that you can cut up plastic bags and make reusable grocery store bags by knitting or crocheting the plastic bag strips... which is similar to what is happening in Kenya. The bags they made were beautiful, and trades like that give folks something to be proud of and a source of income. The woman named Anita who had created a small business of 400 people provided jobs for her community and a market for bags made a huge contribution to both the plastics recycling market and her region. Lastly, I was really compelled by the comparison of comparing the plastics industry to the tobacco industry, because the legal situation that runs alongside the tobacco industry is insane, I can't imagine a story like that that revolving around products we interact with everyday. 5. There were a few portions of the film that I was not compelled by. I'm a little unsure of the markets surrounding recycled flip flop knick-knacks, because the idea is a little tacky. Although it may be all well and good on a small scale, I don't for see that idea going global. At the "waste away" facility, I found the fluff situation to be chemically charged and not a viable option. The regulation of trash going into the mulch was so lax that I would never feel comfortable with that as an option, especially because of the toxicity of every plastic going into that mulch. Bio-plastics are also a non-option to me because of my knowledge of mono cultures and corn production's energy usage. The man who made plastic that melted in the presence of water, although it was truly very innovative, was also very restrictive. Food and liquids cannot be used in those containers, which are what a lot plastic is used to preserve. 6. This film would best address classrooms because of the dual length feature for both high school and college level courses. I think that it would entice older audiences as well because of the historical context. 7. There could have been a greater discussion on the chemical interaction with our bodies to create a health implication with plastic consumption. I would have also like to have seen more information about the off gassing of chemicals associated with plastics manufacture, although this film seemed to focus more on after use procedures so I'm not sure if it would have been applicable. There was also not a lot of discussion on e-waste, which is a much larger issue than the movie explained. 8. This film spent a lot of time focusing on entrepreneurial pursuits associated with plastic usage. The segment on bioplastics offered an alternative, as well as other ideas such as "chicken feathers to plastic." Denmark's system of recycling almost everything was really inspirational, and proves that where there is a will there is a way, and that if the market unfolds you can certainly create jobs and a place for an initiative. The conversation surrounding initiatives from organizations like GreenPeace to clean the oceans I also really enjoyed and see as viable methods of intervention. I don't think there is a "silver bullet" in this situation, nor is there for any environmental issue, but rather a joint effort of entrepreneurs, innovators and organizations that are willing to care about plastics as a holistic sustainability issue, which from this film I am hopeful for. 9. After viewing this film I became curious about two things: 1. What are some more reasons why we turned to plastic, what made it so appealing? I found out that the first "plastic" was invented in 1862 by a man named Alexander Parkes and he called in Parkesine. What developed from there was a time period where every couple years another person developed a new kind of basic man-made plastic, mostly from cellulose materials. Amazingly, one of the "precursors" to man made plastic was "polystyrene" the material that foam coffee cups are made from, and that happened in 1839! I can't believe its taken us this long to realize that we need to seek an alternative and the fact that plastic never degrades is actually pretty important! (Bellis) 2. What other causes does "Toxic Link India" support or take part in? Their resource website is here: []. They sponsor/organize so many events and they seem to be really into education, which is great! They are hosting a film festival soon as well geared toward environmental ideals. They seem to have their website broken down into different areas of "intervention." This webpage alone makes me glad that there are people who are cognizant of the situation but the links that run up and down the sides for other organizations of similar interest in India also give me hope.
 * __Issues in the Ocean:__ The large swirling heaps of plastic in our oceans are so prevalent that when you go out on a boat you can physically see and withdraw plastic. The job of removing all this plastic is absurd, it would take incredible man power and many, many ships.
 * __History's Effect:__ After WWII Americans felt very self entitled to any luxuries or pleasures that new innovations could provide. Disposable, easy to use plastic products paved the way to cheap and efficient hygiene and home making. Unfortunately, the "convenience" of plastic has led us to create everything out of it and has taken it from a disposable item to something that is building up world wide as a trash problem.
 * __ "Recyclers and plastics manufacturers don't go bowling together": __ There's a disconnect between the people who make the different kinds of plastics and those who recycle them, making it difficult for the recycling business to keep up with new technologies they need for their business and for consumers to know what to do with certain plastics.
 * __ Agricultural Uses: __ Fortunately, this film has a reuse circle for plastic waste from agriculture remedy, but apparently waste from plastic in agriculture is one of the greatest contributors to the waste stream in some areas, which makes sense because the United States is so agriculturally based. This is also unfortunate because you can imagine how much waste we likely generate.
 * __Closing the loop:__ Although companies like Patagonia recycle plastics into clothing, the clothing never finds it way back to be recycled again. Patagonia has a very hard time closing that portion of the loop, as do many other clothing brands of similar situations.

References: Bellis, Mary. "The History of Plastic." // Inventors //. Web. 05 Nov. 2010. .  // Toxics Link Home Page //. Web. 05 Nov. 2010. .