PLASTIC-FREE RESOURCE

WHAT IS PLASTIC?

Plastic is a man made material, usually created using oil.

It was invented over 100 years ago.

Look around you, plastic is everywhere!

It is a cheap, lightweight, hard wearing material.

It can be heated and poured into molds to create things like toys, bottles, furniture and so many other things.

It can be made into thin threads and woven together to make clothes like rain coats.

Nylon, Kevlar and Styrofoam are all types of plastics.

THE PROBLEM WITH PLASTIC

Plastic doesn’t biodegrade

01Single use plastics

02Created from fossil fuels

03Human and environmental concerns

04

PLASTIC DOESN’T BIODEGRADE

• Plastic doesn’t break down like paper, cloth or wood• Sunlight can cause it to break into smaller pieces, but it does not decompose• Small pieces of plastic look like plankton to marine animals so they eat it• Plastic waste can cause harm to marine animals and can travel through the food chain to humans

SINGLE USE PLASTICS

• Single use plastics are disposable plastics• They are used for a few minutes, but stay in our environment for centuries• Plastic is cheap to use, so manufacturers choose it over more environmentally friendly materials• Plastic cutlery, bottles and coffee cup lids are all examples of single use plastics• Not all plastics are recyclable, many are sent to landfill

CREATED FROM FOSSIL FUELS

• Plastics are made from fossil fuels like petroleum and gas• Petroleum and gas are non renewable. If we don’t stop using fossil fuels we will be forced to stop as we will

run out and cannot make anymore• Removing fossil fuels from the Earth is damaging to the environment• It pollutes the air and our water• Massive oil spills make news headlines, but smaller spills happen every day and harm marine wildlife

HUMAN AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS

• Plastic waste can become entangled around marine animals and cause them harm• Marine litter can look like food to marine animals. Eating marine litter can choke animals, or their stomach can

become full of plastic and cause the animals to become unwell, preventing them from eating food• Many types of plastic contain toxic chemicals which are of concern to human health

PLASTIC WASTE AND MARINE WILDLIFE

Contains toxic chemicals

Releases toxic chemicals into

the water

These chemicals have been found in sea life such as

fish, mammals and birds

Entangles sea life

Ingested by sea life

PLASTIC FANTASTIC? NO!

Most plastic is made of oil and natural gas liquids (fossil fuels)

Around the world, one million plastic bottles are bought EVERY MINUTE

Ireland produces the most amount of plastic out of all European countries- an average of 61kg per person per year

Plastic takes more than 400 years to degrade

In 2016, Ireland exported 95% of their plastic waste to China

If present trends continue, by 2050, there will be 12 billion metric tons of plastic in landfills. That amount is 35,000 times as heavy as the Empire State Building.

Plastics in our oceans cause the deaths of millions of seabirds, as well as marine mammals, every year

TIPS ON MAKING THE CLASSROOM PLASTIC FREE

Use a reusable water bottleUse

Choose pencils or pens made from recycled materials Choose

Swap paper towels (they come wrapped in plastic) for clothsSwap

Avoid plastic food bags. Use a reusable lunch boxAvoid

Make wax paper food wraps to wrap your sandwiches, cheese etc for your lunchboxMake

Don’t laminate paper or opt for reusable plastic pouchesDon’t laminate

WHERE IS THE PLASTIC IN YOUR HOME?

The first step to becoming plastic free is to carry out an audit in your home. Find out what the main culprits in your home are, and you can tackle how to reduce or eliminate them

Kitchen Living Room Bathroom Bedroom

E.g. Plastic bag

TIPS ON MAKING YOUR HOME PLASTIC FREE

Stop using straws

Try a bamboo toothbrush

Use bars of soap rather than bottles with pumps

Ban wipes. Use faceclothes instead

Choose a local fruit and veg store over a supermarket to avoid plastic packaging

Specifically request no plastic cutlery if ordering a takeaway

Make your own natural cleaning products

RECYCLING SYMBOLS

Do you know what these symbols mean?

Do you think many people know what these symbols mean?

What items have you seen these symbols on?

Click onto the next slide to discover what each symbol means

This symbol is a reminder to not litter.

It asks that you dispose of the packaging in a safe and responsible manner

This is called the Mobius Loop.

It indicates that the packaging, or at least some of it, can be recycled.

However it doesntautomatically mean that it is accepted by recycling facilities in Ireland.

Producers and suppliers of the product have financially contributed to the recycling of the products packaging.

This symbol does not mean that the packaging is recyclable

RECYCLING PLASTIC

Most plastic items contain this chasing arrow symbol, which many believe means the item is recyclable. However, this is not the case.

The arrow within the triangle denotes the type of plastic and if it is recyclable

Next time you are buying something in plastic packaging, check to see what type of plastic it is made of, and if you can recycle it.

PLASTIC-FREE ACTIVITIES

LIST ALTERNATIVES

FOR THESE COMMON

PLASTIC ITEMS

Plastic bag……………….

Plastic Straw……………….

Coffee cup and lid……………….

Microbead face wash……………….

Plastic cutlery……………….

Chopped fruit in plastic packaging

……………….

Toothbrush……………….

Cling film……………….

COLOUR SHEET

FIND THE WORDS RELATING TO PLASTIC POLLUTION IN THE WORD SEARCH

Landfill

Pollution

Environment

Plastic

Microbeads

Waste

Single use

Packaging

Bag

Recycling

Bottle

Awareness

B P G E P H S V Q P

U L A N D F I L L O

T A I V Z B N E O L

C S J I W O G E F L

O T B R H T L G Z U

X I G O K T E H R T

Y C S N Q L U L A I

G A B M C E S D K O

N V I E U P E F O N

F W E N M Y O L J D

W A S T E O K S T N

M I C R O B E A D S

G N I L C Y C E R J

R S S E N E R A W A

I W B D H I X S M X

C G N I G A K C A P

CREATIVE WRITING

Imagine that you are a sea turtle. You are leaving the beach that you were born on to travel thousands of miles across the oceans in search of your favourite food, Jellyfish. Write a short story about your epic journey, describing your encounters with plastic pollution along the way.

JUST ONE PIECE OF CONTAMINATED WASTE CAN RUIN AN ENTIRE RECYCLIN G BIN

Design a poster to raise awareness on the do’s and don'ts of recycling

VIDEOS

Plastic Planet https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73sGgmZoMBQ

Kids take action against ocean plastic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKFV9IquMXA

Ocean Confetti, the challenge of microplastics

https://thekidshouldseethis.com/post/85747435912

How can we keep plastics out of our ocean https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQTUWK7CM-Y

Student develops invention to clean up microplastics https://www.inverse.com/article/47488-young-innovator-anna-du-rov-microplastic

ANSWERS

CIRCLE THE ITEMS THAT YOU THINK CONTAIN PLASTIC

LIST ALTERNATIVES

FOR THESE COMMON

PLASTIC ITEMS

Plastic bagCotton bag

Plastic StrawMetal or paper straw

Coffee cup and lidReusable cup

Microbead face washNatural face wash

Plastic cutleryMetal or bamboo

cutlery

Chopped fruit in plastic packaging

Buy fruit, chop and use lunch box

ToothbrushBamboo toothbrush

Cling filmLunch box or wax

wrap

FIND THE WORDS RELATING TO PLASTIC POLLUTION IN THE WORD SEARCH

Landfill

Pollution

Environment

Plastic

Microbeads

Waste

Single use

Packaging

Bag

Recycling

Bottle

Awareness

B P G E P H S V Q P

U L A N D F I L L O

T A I V Z B N E O L

C S J I W O G E F L

O T B R H T L G Z U

X I G O K T E H R T

Y C S N Q L U L A I

G A B M C E S D K O

N V I E U P E F O N

F W E N M Y O L J D

W A S T E O K S T N

M I C R O B E A D S

G N I L C Y C E R J

R S S E N E R A W A

I W B D H I X S M X

C G N I G A K C A P