Stories of change to end Plastic Pollution : urban agriculture, bacteria and packageless
2018 Earth Day focused on securing a future free of plastic pollution. On a worldwide scale, it represents 8 billion tonnes of plastic. Here a few ideas on what can we do about it including a bacteria, urban agriculture and a lecture recommendation.
Recycling more of our plastic waste is a first step. Suez is focusing on producing recycled plastic of equal quality as virgin plastic. Another option is upcycling. Many projects work on it, including J2D_Afrique, Precious Plastic
Story of Change #1 J2D_Afrique
What can you do with a discarded plastic bottle? Grow organic vegetables in cities !
The association Young People and Sustainable Development for Africa (J2D_Afrique) is creating kits made up of old plastic bottles and rice sacks. Plastic bottles are attached to each other with string, forming a ladder-like structure, which is hung upon the wall of a house.
It is a response to the scarcity of cultivable land in several cities across Cameroon.
Story of Change #2 Precious Plastic
Precious Plastic creates tools to help upcycle plastic waste
Story of Change #3 a bacteria that eats plastic
In 2016, the first bacterium that had naturally evolved to eat plastic was discovered at a waste dump in Japan. Scientists have now created a mutant enzyme that breaks down plastic drinks bottles. Read more about it on The Guardian
Story of Change #4 packageless products
Maybe the best solution to end plastic polution is to actually stop consume so much of it.
Bonus: a little bit of reading
When 9 years old Noboru recycled a plastic bottle, he never thought it will come back to life as PET, a robot wanting to become Most Helpful Robot™ ! Kenji Sonishi’s Leave It to PET! is a light manga that delivers wacky humor with adorable characters. It might actually change the way you see recycled plastic bottles !
