My Soda Bottle Ended Up Where? Exploring Plastic Problems and Solutions

How much plastic do we use daily and where does it go afterward? Middle and high school educators investigated environmental impacts of human’s plastic consumption and identified ways in which they can support solutions to our plastic problem. They followed the journey of plastics from cradle to grave by assessing their own usage, surveying debris in their communities, observing global impacts of pollution, and connecting to innovators developing sustainable waste management practices and bio-based alternatives. 

Educators began their investigation into plastics by inventorying their day-to-day consumption, identifying types used in their households, and collecting citizen science data about trash strewn through their neighborhoods. After observing the phenomena of the Great Atlantic Garbage Patch, educators modeled ocean currents and discussed ocean plastics with Salem Sound Coastwatch. Joined by Sea Education Association, the group conducted a hands-on, minds-on investigation of plastic densities that helped to clarify why oceanic garbage patches do not look like floating islands of trash.

Focusing on solutions, educators heard from the founder of wTe Corporation about the state of the global recycling industry. They learned that innovation is the key to developing new methods of recycling, but the challenge of using less plastic starts with daily choices since certain types of plastics simply cannot be recycled. In search of more plausible solutions, educators worked with Beyond Benign to design their own bio-based plastic using green chemistry. 

Teachers compared how reducing, reusing, recycling, and refusing plastics can all be worthwhile methods of tackling the unsustainable issue of global plastic waste. By the end of this course, educators were developing business models for upcycling plastics into everyday products.