Plastic Fantastic

Plastic. It really is everywhere. Possibly one of man's most important inventions. It has undoubtably been a huge part of our development in the 100 or so years that it has been around, allowing us to move forward in leaps and bounds, in terms of technology and the goods that we use in our day-to-day lives.
       As incredibly useful this stuff is, it has it's downsides. Huge downsides really. Considering that no organisms on Earth have the capacity to break the stuff down, a simple plastic bottle is estimated to have a life span of around 450 years. Even cigarette butts can take up to 20 years to decompose, given the fact that they are largely created from plastic. According to some, styrofoam apparently lasts as good as forever, and glass bottles up to a million years. In essence, just about every single piece of plastic that has ever been made, except for stuff that has been burned, still exists today. Most of it makes it's way over the course of it's lifetime to the place that is downhill from everywhere, the ocean. The UN released some statistics a couple of years ago that blew me away more than a little. They estimate that for every square mile of ocean in the world, there are around 46,000 peices of plastic in it on average. Either floating or on the sea bed. Nasty stuff dudes.
       Only around 46 percent of the plastic we dispose of actually gets recycled here in Australia. While this is indeed a pretty good figure in contrast with most of the world, especially in comparison to the US's shocking 5 percent, a lot of what we actually throw away makes it's way to landfill or the sea.
      It's all pretty bad and fucked up for the planet, but it's actually not all doom and gloom. There are several new sciences devoted to the relatively new technology of biodegradable plastics, which are being created with all kinds of materials, from orange peels to chook feathers, marking a separation from the current methods, with which plastic is created using fossil fuels, most notably crude oil and natural gas. Finite resources with a limited lifespan. Even Sony, one of the technlogogical superstars of our world, who pruduce plastic goods on a tremendous scale, have begun to get on board and are utilising the new degradable plastics in the creation of their TV's and Playstation 3's. One of the world's leading innovators in renewable plastics is actually an Australian company, named Plantic. The dude who makes it even eats it to show that it is non toxic and completely biodegradable. This is great news!
        But there is a long way to go, and the battle is not yet won. There is still alot of near indestructible plastic being pumped out, still a lot of waste. Truth be told, it will get a lot worse before it get's better. All that we can do as consumers is to be watchful and clever about it. Always try to recycle, take your reusable bags shopping, chuck your butts in the bin, etcetera etcetera. You know the drill. It's imporant though. The old adage still stands. Don't shit where you eat. So let's all try not make a mark as long as we can help it.
        Good ol' Clean Up Australia have put together a little fact sheet with a bit of extra information and some tips to cut down on your waste. You should look into it! Riiiiiight here,
http://www.cleanup.org.au/PDF/au/cua_plastic_recycling_fact_sheet.pdf      
       And guess what? Another supersweet doco for you freaks! Bonus Bonanza! Huzzah! This one is actually pretty good. A Canadian bloke goes all over the world finding out the story of plastic and the effects of it. He also uncovers some of ways that it is being reused and recycled, and spends some time on the new technologies and stuff. Recommended.
 


Here's a few more video's for those interested, courtesy of my friend Danica, specifically to do with the giant garbage patch floating out there in the middle of the Pacific.
http://www.tedxgreatpacificgarbagepatch.com/category/watch-our-videos/
.... And thanks to Frazzy for this Awesome VBS special
http://www.vbs.tv/en-gb/watch/toxic/toxic-garbage-island-1-of-3

Peace.