Plastic Problem

Look around you, and what do you see? If you are in or around a modern building, vehicle or other man-made structure then the chances are that you will be able to see some plastic. I can see a printer, a scanner, some speakers, a desk tidy, CD cases, a some video cases, a moulded plug, a keyboard, mouse and monitor case (not to mention plastic bas and bottles!) Can you imagine these things without plastic existing?

If we were to remove plastic from our world then modern society would, literally, fall apart. The use of oil, synthetic chemicals, plastics and high technology form a cluster of things around which we have built modern society, and which most of us could probably not imagine living without.

So what is the problem with plastic?

Plastic is fantastic. It's versatile, durable, waterproof, convenient and

very, very cheap. BUT….

• A thin plastic carrier bag will last for anything from 20 to 1000 years; a drainpipe or child’s toy, probably longer – and we will not know exactly how long until far in the future, by which time much of our planet will surely be choking on plastic waste.

They turn up everywhere..

• Polluting the environment

• Killing wildlife

See the following examples highlighted by the Daily Mail newspaper…

Many supermarkets are now trying to reduce the number of plastic

bags their customers use

Your Task• Research what different supermarkets are doing

to discourage the use of plastic bags

• Use the internet to research how different countries have tackled this problemyou may like to start with

ChinaFranceUganda