And few places have pursed recycling more aggressively than Oregon. How many discarded fishing nets are in oceans worldwide? In this independent documentary film, journalist/filmmaker Angela Sun travels on a personal journey of discovery to uncover this mysterious phenomenon. Thomas wrote a confidential memo in 1989 about the precarious position the industry was in. By doing so, this film will inspire young people to act as global citizens and contribute to finding solutions for the major environmental problems of the coming century.' The start of construction on that multibillion-dollar plastics plant. In what may be part of a national trend, the City Council of St. Paul, Minnesota, voted to outlaw the use of polystyrene plastics. The company has not been charged with any wrongdoing related to dumping. Conversely, plastics can also absorb pollutants, such as PCBs, from the seawater. Its very confusing to a lot of people. Eighty plastic bags found inside the whale. Carl F. Cranor, Professor of Philosophy, Faculty of Environmental Toxicology Graduate Program, University of California-Riverside'Plastic Paradise warns that the environment is everyone's responsibility, and that humanity cannot turn a blind eye to its own garbage forever. In an underwater paradise, a plastic nightmare. Plastics have been around since the 1930's. It is virtually indestructible, never deteriorates and is produced by using resources from two of the largest money making industries in the world: oil and gas. The sacks are from a plastic company. So much of all this stuff in the grocery store is plastic now. Teaching Sociology 2020 48: 3, 259-261 Download Citation. No, it was not an accident. But by 1970, the plastic industry would have to confront the turbulent times of Americas environmental awakening. In five years, he invented a new material called celluloid, which would become known as the first plastic. This is one of the easiest visualizations of how humans (not all, but many) have lost connection with the environment--a sad state of affairs--but the truth.' and focus public attention on a growing problem. Its going to be the largest plant of its kind in the world. Sarah Appleton, National Geographic Society. Today its main lobbying group is the American Chemistry Council, and until recently its vice president of plastics was Steve Russell. October 7, 2013 by The CALI Award. In New Jersey, I met a man who built a $180 million recycling business off of that waste. By doing so, this film will inspire young people to act as global citizens and contribute to finding solutions for the major environmental problems of the coming century.' How much responsibility do you feel like you have over what's happening here? And the guy industry tapped decades ago to get recycling going isnt surprised. Sunil Bagaria is national chairman of the plastics division for ISRI, the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries. My college age son thinks it is 'right on.' This is my basic question, because it seems like everybody is buying lettuce in a box now. With Josh 'Shag' Agle, Jeff 'Beachbum' Berry, Drew Birch, Richard Boccato. It needs improvement. A dead seal or sea lion? A lot of Americans do this, like what you're doing right now. Ask students to predict what might happen if turtles or seabirds become less common in a coral reef ecosystem. Soto, Tanya Leal (film producer). It currently covers roughly 1.6 million square . Busy lifestyles and a growing urban population mean an increase in demand for food that is fresh. Plastic Paradise is the first documentary to chronicle the rise, fall, and resurgence of tiki, or Polynesian pop, one of the defining cultural trends of postwar America. Welcome to EPAs 2019 America Recycles Innovation Fair. Would any of the trash be harmless?Use this encyclopedia article on food webs and the article on coral reef food webs to introduce students to a typical coral reef food web. But the question really is, "How do I reduce?". Sun offers a fresh, new voice for her generation and has made a film that can appeal to the masses, "Chilling filmjournalist Angela Sun offers valuable new insights. Plastic films, plastic bags, the plastic wrapping that comes around a lot of packaged goods, that all goes into the garbage. One of the sponsors was the American Chemistry Council. Others, like Colgate-Palmolive, saw a need for better education. This is a documentary that should be seen by educators, students, politicians, and environmentalists alike. I strongly recommend this film as an instructional tool to connect ecology, communication, and global service. Not a good idea for the Earth. But more importantly, we have to look at reuse models; using less where we can; developing new materials, which is the plastic maker's responsibility, that can be better recycled; and also really important that we deploy the technologies that are now available to us at scale. Timothy Hoellein, Aquatic Ecologist, Assistant Professor of Biology, Loyola University'With fantastic archival footage, revealing modern images from the pacific and thoughtful, fact-based explanation, Plastic Paradise provides an educational, hip, and very entertaining look at some of the many ways plastic is affecting us all. Almost 20 years. Plastic Paradise makes the issue of plastic pollution real and relevant. If you have questions about how to cite anything on our website in your project or classroom presentation, please contact your teacher. The customs document we had said the company was getting plastic from the U.S. With no one from New Harvestindo willing to speak to us, we still wanted to know what they were doing with all those bales of plastic waste and whether it was all being recycled. National Geographic Headquarters 1145 17th Street NW Washington, DC 20036. Dr. Joel Baker, Director, UW Puget Sound Institute, Professor and Port of Tacoma Chair in Environmental Science, University of Washington Tacoma'Angela Sun has found a way to present the imminent dangers of plastics pollution in a jarringly visual and inquisitive formatSignificant take-home messages include a misconception of just how few plastic products are recyclable, and that plastics production will continue to increase as long as the demand for plastic products remains. And Liesemer found a solution. Not a good idea for your wallet. The crisis passed. It's huge and very wide. In Oregon, again, there are no curbside programs that would accept any of these tubs. Scientists hope the larvae of the darkling beetle nicknamed "superworms" might solve the world's trash crisis thanks to their uncanny ability to eat polystyrene. We have not had any model shows around here in a long time! It has the recycling logo. And yet it's become ground zero for The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, syphoning plastics from three distant continents. // ]]> Thousands of miles away from civilization, Midway Atoll is in one of the most remote places on earth. In Washington last November, during America Recycles Week. Dr. Garen Baghdasarian, Professor of Biology, Chair of Life Sciences, Santa Monica College'Filmmaker Angela Sun tells a compelling story about the plethora of harmful impacts associated with non-degradable plastic, particularly in regard to the marine environment, while recognizing that the properties of plastic have enhanced our quality of life in many ways. To the best of my knowledge there has been no life cycle analysis of plastic. What would happen if the corals died off? And by impacts, I don't mean whether or not it can be recycled. It says it's recyclable. Then what? Once in the ocean there is really no way to get it out, other than hope that it washes up on a shore and is collected. I mean, how big a problem do you think these kinds of dumping grounds are in Indonesia? Here's this flexible bag, and it's a plastic-metal laminate. Waste pickers would look for plastics of value, and the rest would be burned. Eventually, the reality of what was happening in China became clear. These Chinese children spend most of their waking hours between plumes of smoke and mountains of plastic. They would just take the low-hanging fruits. She is known for her stylized images of ordinary objects. One in every 10 Americans took part in rallies, concerts and. Have each group report their findings to the class. Plastic Paradise: In Conclusion. Because as long as it remotely resembled plastic, they wanted it. If a media asset is downloadable, a download button appears in the corner of the media viewer. Are we damaging the environment more in the name of recycling?". I dont think this kind of advertising is helpful to them at all. Vinod Singh is the outreach manager at Far West Recycling. I strongly recommend this film as an instructional tool to connect ecology, communication, and global service. How do you get it to a place where 100% of this plastic getting recycledhow do you get there? In Medford, Oregon, Rogue Disposals landfill takes about a hundred loads of trash a day, and more and more of it is plastic. Industry wouldnt even consider, say, no triangle, or a circle, or. (function() { var po = document.createElement('script'); po.type = 'text/javascript'; po.async = true; po.src = 'https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })(); Any interactives on this page can only be played while you are visiting our website. If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice . We reached out to the two recycling companies known locally as Harvest. New Harvestindo still wouldnt respond to us, and the other company denied it was behind the dumping. Americans discard more trash than any other country in the world. But I had millions of dollars to do what I felt was necessary. With the help of an Indonesian journalist, we tried to speak to someone at New Harvestindo, but we were told there was no one available. No transcript available. Do you think that because its not quite recyclable yet that that might be a little misleading? Angela Sun provides an excellent model of how one curious person can use her talents to follow her interests, speak from the heart, and contribute to improving the world. 08/08/2014. As packaging evolves. Years later, we shut it down because there was no way to make money at it. William J. Cooper, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Director of the Urban Water Research Center, University of California-Irvine'A fun and well-balanced introduction to a complex environmental topic. Film Review: Plastic Paradise: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch. And we know that. This film makes the case that the only solution is source control, and that consumers have a great deal of underutilized power.' That turtle video certainly did have an impact. Jon and Jo Ann Hagler on behalf of the Jon L. Hagler Foundation. Because the average person saw the symbol, they know the symbol and said, "Well, its recyclable, right?". One of those companies is DuPont, and on the grounds of the first du Pont family home, I found the Hagley Library. Hi, Im Laura Sullivan, NPR and PBS FRONTLINE. Even if there was, how do we put a price on an albatross? This film makes the case that the only solution is source control, and that consumers have a great deal of underutilized power.' What does coral treat? At the bottom of all these plastic containers is this little chasing arrowthe little recycling symbol with a number. So if the California market changes, we know it's going to put pressure on the kind of products that are out there. But you're talking about couple of companies. JERRED JONES, Program representative, Keep America Beautiful: We are Keep America Beautiful. Ive got a couple of newspaper articles I want to show you from the past. There are a lot of different kinds of plastics that have to be sorted. ", "We must immediately undertake a major program of unprecedented proportions to reverse this fast-moving tidal wave of growing negative public perception.. They are everywhere around this area. Angela SunProduced by Angela Sun, Gil Elbaz, Elyssa Elbaz, Tanya Leal SotoEditor: Wendy ShueyCinematography: Joseph Ochoa, Francisco Aliwalas, Mark BellaGraphics: Jonathan Jelkin. Yeah. I would say that this package is rarely recycled in most parts in the country. Transcript Plastic Wars View film LAURA SULLIVAN, Correspondent: In 2015, a marine biologist came across a sea turtle in distress. This is from Purchase, New York. And that's the way recycling has been sold as well, OK? Plastic Paradise is another documentary on the topic of plastic waste and our oceans. Our newest CALI Award winner is Angela Sun - Storyteller, Adventure Traveller, Sports Lover. It holds one of the worlds largest collections of industrial history. Plastic Paradise looks to make difference with plastic consumption By Stephanie Shinno The Garden Island | Sunday, July 11, 2021, 12:05 a.m. Share this story Contributed by Abe Kowitz Abe. Most end up in the ocean, where they pollute the water and harm marine life; the rest are burned in garbage piles, where they release harmful dioxins into the atmosphere. Lets make more single-use plastics"dont buy into that. Making recycling work was a way to keep their products in the marketplace. Register to request a quote. This million-dollar plastic sorting system in Salem is the first of its kind in the world. Because that's how big a demand of manufacturing was there in China. A dead seal or sea lion? The reality is, for all the ads and promises over the years, it's estimated that no more than 10% of plastic has ever been recycled. If the oil industry is able to get 100% of the material recycled. And the next thing you know, all of the plastic containers have these symbols on them. And the remaining plastic waste will then be disposed of. Along the way she meets scientists, researchers, influencers, and volunteers who shed light on the effects of our rabid plastic consumption and learns the problem is more insidious than we could have ever imagined. "Some firms used it as a green marketing tool." The plastic industry that you were working with agreed to these and signed on to this report. 'This is an issue of vast scales. We are approaching a 'point of no return. People start pollution. The film takes a refreshing approach of avoiding the blame game, while emphasizing that learning about the issue can lead to less plastic use by the general public.' If you want to step up above, you can see the machine in action. They are going to double down on single-use plastic like we have never seen, so we're heading towards a real battle. So you can talk about this stuff a lot. Did you feel like they cared more about selling plastic than they did about making recycling work? ", America has a garbage problem too long ignored. YUYUN ISMAWATI, Co-founder, Nexus3 Foundation: Yeah. The Boston Globe, Sun, Angela (screenwriter) Chevron Phillips would like to see all of that plastic recycled back to make new plastic things. And you don't think this is just an industry coming up with a way to get out of a crisis? The film won many awards and was released in 2013. The question that people are going to have is what are they supposed to do to make this better? The group had a plan and turned to a veteran of the industry, Ron Liesemer, to execute it. Plastic Paradise 1) Why is plastic different than any other substance on Earth? Text on this page is printable and can be used according to our Terms of Service. To preview films or license them for streaming, you must register and login. [Speaking Indonesian] It used to be only once a month, but now it can be two or three times a week. EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler was talking up the future of recycling. From packaging to clothing to home furnishings. But even as Liesemer and his colleagues were publicly promoting recycling, privately, the industry had long expressed doubt it was ever going to happen on a broad scale. Itll be great. And Id be like, "I can tell you, I cant give this away. In the United States. Existing customers, please log in to view this film. The film takes a refreshing approach of avoiding the blame game, while emphasizing that learning about the issue can lead to less plastic use by the general public.' I wanted to understand how we came to this moment; how the plastic industry has been able to thrive all these years in the face of a growing crisis and opposition thats now stronger than its ever been. ', "Business is being lost; analysts are beginning to take notice. Trace the history of the material that ushered in the "plastics century." Watch Think Dig Deeper Discuss Customize this lesson 403 Create and share a new lesson based on this one. As of today, plastic bags are banned in Jersey City. Freemans boss at the time, Larry Thomas, the head of the Society of the Plastics Industry, was blunt about it. National Geographic Magazine infographic by Jason Treat and Ryan T. Williams Powered by Background Info Vocabulary Idea for Use in the Classroom So, we dont think banning these products is necessarily the right way to go. 2023 Plastic Paradise. We need to confirm if the data that we have is correct or not. The table is set with polyethylene products, too. This package here is technically recyclable. They float in the water and get eaten by sea life. and fast. JENNIFER BOADA-RODRIGUEZ, Senior technical associate, Colgate-Palmolive: So were here today to showcase our first-of-its-kind recyclable tube. I think we were overly optimistic about the potential of recycling, and perpetuating that narrative led us astray. Plastic Paradise engages students by illustrating how their everyday interactions with plastic are connected to pollution at the farthest, most exotic corners of the world. Bagaria had come to make sure his plastic was actually being recycled and turned into tiny pellets that are used to make new plastic products. childhood leukemia. And in 2018, China stopped taking imported plastic waste. And the consumption and lifestyle that we have, I think itsyou have to rethink, because we have to reduce the amount of plastics that we produce at the moment. This is a pile of U.S. recycling. Save our Earth. Watertight and endlessly malleable, plastic is the perfect invention yet, its miraculous durability is also its curse because it never goes away. Reduce the impact. Oh, man! The manufacturing of plastic has increased from 20 million pounds worldwide in 1927 to 115 billion in 2014. I mean, for most states they did it in, recyclers didnt even know it happened. twice the size of texas or as big as the US. The fact that you now dont have to worry about dropping a shampoo bottle that was made out of glass on the bathroom floor because its plastic. That all originates with us. STEVE RUSSELL, VP, American Chemistry Council, 1995-2020: The thing that made them unique was the ability to do more with just a little bit of material; to make things that we used lighter and more efficient. Dr. Joel Baker, Director, UW Puget Sound Institute, Professor and Port of Tacoma Chair in Environmental Science, University of Washington Tacoma'Angela Sun has found a way to present the imminent dangers of plastics pollution in a jarringly visual and inquisitive formatSignificant take-home messages include a misconception of just how few plastic products are recyclable, and that plastics production will continue to increase as long as the demand for plastic products remains. ", And this document was candid: There is serious doubt widespread plastic recycling can ever be made viable on an economic basis.. For the last 40 years, the conversation in this country has been about the recycle part of "reduce, reuse, recycle.". Big. It's not going to happen this month or by the end of the year, but we're moving now. Plastic Paradise | Bullfrog Films: 1-800-543-3764: Environmental DVDs and Educational DVDs is a leading source of educational DVDs & videos, with a collection of over 700 titles in these main subject areas: Environment Globalization Sustainability Climate Change Social Justice Developing World Indigenous Peoples Earth Science Life Science Melati and Isabel Wijsen are on a mission to stop plastic bags from suffocating their beautiful island home of Bali. ThermaSet is the future. I highly recommend checking this film out!' One study estimates that 60% of ocean plastic comes from Asia. Sun, Angela (film producer) After a 30-minute drive, we reached a quiet neighborhood with an area hidden from the road. So this is how it looks like when they burn it. Please inquire if you are with a K-12 district or school or with a public library. Thats the past. We need more work. Americans need to know that your waste ended up here. Its showing the people picking up the litter. Plastic Paradise "Sun offers a fresh, new voice for her generation and has made a film that can appeal to the masses" - Honolulu Pulse "Chilling film.journalist Angela Sun offers valuable new insights." --The Hollywood Reporter "Thoughtful new documentary by @sunnyangela examines the Great Pacific Garbage Patch Over the past year, weve been investigating the plastic crisis and found that many of the problems we face today were set in motion decades ago, by the very companies who make plastic in the first place. I said everybody up here said they don't want the plant. One recycling company here caught our attention. So, contaminated plastic trash is as big a problem for you guys as narcotics and drugs coming into the country. So if you put this in your curbside tonight, do you think that this tube would be recycled? he was actually Italian, dressed up like an Indian [Laughs]but the fake crying Indian, the most famous one, ends with this very dramatic sentence where they say. Now what were doing here is were sorting it out into the milk jugs, the natural HDPE, the pigmented HDPE, PET water bottles. Angela Sun provides an excellent model of how one curious person can use her talents to follow her interests, speak from the heart, and contribute to improving the world. This confusion about what can and cant be recycled, and where plastic ultimately ends up, is no accident. Honolulu Pulse'Offers some alarming information that might cause viewers to think twice about buying one-time-use water bottles.' A PLASTIC OCEAN. ", "Eye-opening insightPlastic Paradise provides an informative, timely and, relevant look at the consequences of plastic consumption", "A film that moves the grassroots and has the audience thinking twice, before grabbing a straw to go with a beverage.". In this independent documentary film, journalist/filmmaker Angela Sun travels on a personal journey of discovery to uncover this mysterious phenomenon. Documentary. So plastic came to be used in many applications because it performed better. Go to some other symbol, just not the triangle. I met up with Yuyun Ismawati in a small rural community nearby. And this was in 1973. Earth Day was one of the largest mass protests in U.S. history. As the film stated, plastic is the third biggest industry in the USA. [Speaking Indonesian] If its not useful, we put it into the community. Once a completely natural product, much of today's plastic is man-made and largely dependent upon fossil fuels. The U.S. is now one of the worlds largest plastic producers. It all made me wonder whether the plastic industry is just recycling old ideas. So let's take a look at these blueberries. In 2017, however, researchers surveying the islands beaches found the highest concentration of plastic trash ever recorded.In this infographic, the colored dots show the amount of plastic and other trash collected in one survey plot. There is no proof. Dr. Kirk J. Havens, Director, Coastal Watersheds Program, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, College of William and Mary'I believe that this film portrays the state of the plastic marine debris issue accurately. So, you're saying consumers stand here and think, "What can I recycle?" A good substitute is a Swap Meet. So here weve collected some old newspaper articles from 199425 years ago. And yet it's become ground zero for The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, syphoning plastics from three distant continents. On the bottom, it says "100% recyclable." There is no program in Oregon that wants this in the curbside mix. A bunch of small but . What are the toxics emissions? No, this is about all of us understanding that we each have a role to play in making the system that we have better and achieving the goals thatI think everybody would have to say we cannot continue with business as usual. Using the infographic and a world map, point out the pattern of ocean currents. Not a good idea for the environment. It did a good job of doing what it was asked to do; it made life more efficient and easier. They want to sell more plastic containers. We said, "Next time try recycling." ", "Thoughtful new documentary by @sunnyangela examines the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, @plasticdise plasticparadisemovie.com #ppgp2", "Offers some alarming information that might cause viewers to think twice, about buying one-time-use water bottles. We're covered in plastic-based gear from head to toe.