What really happens to the plastic you throw away - Emma Bryce

We’ve all been told that we should recycle plastic bottles and containers. But what actually happens to the plastic if we just throw it away? Emma Bryce traces the life cycles of three different plastic bottles, shedding light on the dangers these disposables present to our world.

Lesson by Emma Bryce, animation by Sharon Colman.

[kristylorson]

That would be great...if recycling actually solved the problem. 1) Recycling is an energy-intensive and polluting industry. 2) Plastic can only be recycled a few times before its quality degrades to the point where it has to go to landfill.

If we want to solve the problem, we need to reduce our consumption of plastic.

[TheNon]

Zero waste lifestyles should be subject at school!! 👍👏👌

[WeiYinChan]

Why can't we go back to using glass bottles that are returned to the manufacturers, where they are washed and used again? If corporations take on the initiative to not produce plastic we don't even need to worry about recycling.

[perogieluver]

This is a one-sided portrayal of recycling. Don't forget all the oil that was used to generate power for the washing and melting and reforming of that recycled plastic. It is better to reuse, or repurpose, or better yet: REDUCE :)

[treetooone]

In Finland the tap water is cleaner than the bottled water sold around the world. Here you also get back money for returning empty bottles and cans, so in Finland 80% of plastic drinking bottles, 90% cans (beer etc) and 98% of glass bottles are returned and recycled/reused :)

[rahemrahem]

I wish you could do another video, explaining how most types of plastic cannot be recycled, and the ones that can, are only recyclable once or twice before they are too damaged and are downgraded until they end up in the oceans and landfills too. It's a good step to recycle plastic, but the reality is it costs a lot of energy and it still dosn't keep the pollution away. It is best to find alternatives like reusable, aluminum (infinitely recycled and costs less energy to recycle than to make new) and glass!

[HanaHabib]

and so is it really that hard for y'all to just buy a reusable water bottle???

[hopelessbtw]

Who else here because of online school?

[nancyschanz]

Such a vital message to all of us. I am proud to be an educator at Highlands Middle School in Grand Rapids, Michigan where we have earned the "Green School " rating due to our commitment to recycling. I will be showing this video to my students as yet another valuable reminder. Thank you!

[kalexambing]

It pisses me off when people don't recycle. Especially when we have single stream. IT CANT BE ANY EASIER

[graydensheridan]

3:23 "Okay, this sounds pretty bad too, but trust me, it gets better."
*_The blocks are shredded into tiny pieces_*

[lionwolf]

"Don't worry, it gets better. The plastic then gets shredded" That's not better!

[leliakatalnikova]

There's no REcycle, there's only DOWNcycle. Recycling is not a solution, we deadly need to learn to live without waste at all - ZeroWaste lifestyle.

[az]

it's like 3 little pigs but plastic bottles version

but seriously this needs to be made into a short story book

[xiaolongcui]

It is frustrating that we know the right thing to do but we are just not doing it nearly enough.

[IstasPumaNevada]

Good video. Also, all should remember that "reduce" and "reuse" are both even more effective methods of reducing pollution.

[elinorrichards]

Great video, and very informative.

Though option 3 is the lesser of the evils, the subsequent plastic products that are made will still at some point enter the waste chain. Hopefully there will be better reclamation facilities for these secondary products by the time they are beyond their usable life, but we're already hearing about the concerns of microplastic fibres from clothing made of recycled plastic which are shedding and getting into our air, soil and water.

Cutting down on consumer use of plastic use has got to be one of the main strategies, and we have to act now.

[arandomguy]

me after this video talking with my chair : hi bottle 3, hi bottle 3 brothers

[JetStream]

The most detailed and complex way to tell people to recycle, yet it is the best way.

[Zarggg]

However, an unfortunate truth is that even recycled plastics only last one or two generations (that is, they are only "recycled" once or twice) before becoming part of a landfill or gyre.