What really happens to the plastic you throw away - Emma Bryce
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- čas přidán 20. 04. 2015
- View full lesson: ed.ted.com/lessons/what-really...
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.
this video made me extremely sad.
me too....
@NCL LOLA seems like we don't need 2 generations to suffer its effects.
😅
Please do something about the massive problem that made you sad instead of being the majority that doesn’t do anything and forgets the world is about to end. Thank you!
did u take any action?
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.
Exactly what I wanted to say. Due to the limited number of times plastic can be recycled, there is no happy ending in the long term to none of the three bottles. We need to completely get rid of single-use plastic!
Kristy Lorson but it is still better than immediately discarding your plastic. Be a bit optimistic.
Sooooooo TRUE !
Not true. PET can be recycled many times, an can from many other things. Recycling plastic is one of the most energy efficient recycling efforts when compared to paper or metal.
U were right maam
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.
Yes, I agree! Why is the responsibility left to us - the end consumers - when we are tricked into buying "cheap" products with such a hidden long term impact on our environment?
Really good way to approach things.
Thank you
Bren
stainlesssteelstraws.com.au
How do you wash glass bottle? What happens to the water used to clean the old glass bottle? What is the co2 footprint for producing a glass bottle and a plastic one? How about the bigger amount of co2 because of the logistics? The problem with the plastics is not the plastic itself.. it’s the habit of the humans of just trowing it away. The plastic is a really good material... we just need to learn how to reuse it.
^ Seriously?! It seems you didn’t watch the video at all. “What happens to the water...?” You wrote. Watch the video! The best solution is to reduce the use of plastics and such. But that’s likely not to happen as the ignorance of the population soars (such as yourself, cas in point with your comment). No one is disputing the quality of plastic and it’s its quality that makes so toxic to ecosystems. Watch the video.
It is still happening in the Philippines. We can buy soda from glass bottles, bring back the glasses from the store, then from there, a delivery from the company of soda (ex. Coca cola) picks up the glass bottles. They clean it, refill it then deliver it to the store. Same with water, Filipino families buy a galloon of water, same process with the bottled soda. We return the galloon, a company or refilling station will refill it, they send it back to us. And the cycle repeats.
But, recycling is fun
and so is it really that hard for y'all to just buy a reusable water bottle???
Hana Habib yerp
Yeah it's a little inconvenient
ikr
I dont buy water bottles
No! Because most bottles of water cost money and u could save by just having a reusable one in your bag. There are water bubblers (water fountains) every where so how hard can it be to take 1 minute to fill it up?
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 :)
perogieluver You have a good point. Oil is also used (as fuel) in transportation of bottles. Garbage trucks picking up the trash, and loading trucks transporting bottles from the factories to stores.
Anonymous That would be a more eco-friendly choice, but maybe not the most practical. I guess the moral of this video is that you shouldn't throw away bottles, you should recycle them. In my opinion it's better to release some CO2 for the greater good of not polluting the water supplies.
perogieluver A lot of it is also just burned in incinerators to generate power. I was at a major tire recycling plant a few weeks ago. They make certain things out of recycled rubber, but the majority goes into incinerators.
AMEN BROTHER! Or sister :-)
ssuuppeerrbbooyy Dioxins. Avoid burning plastic. The best option is to avoid single use plastic and pass packaging laws. However, recycle/reuse material, rather than tossing it out.
Zero waste lifestyles should be subject at school!! 👍👏👌
environmental studies should be a core subject. children at an early age, will learn about the plastic problem, global warming, deforestation, and the benefits of going vegan. this would kill the issue at the root, and allow the kids to grow up as environmentally conscious people, creating a new era of humans.
Zero waste means essentially country life. And that's not the prettiest thing to teach in school :)
The idea is to draw a line between the back breaking physical work the countryside implies and modern technology.
Why do you think I’m here
@@mendebil living "zero waste", as the term is popularly used, does not necessarily mean forsaking all modern amenities, it is more about becoming mindful, intentional, and responsible in regards to one's environmental impact. Also "country life" isn't automatically zero waste? I assume you're referring to how the term "zero waste" denotatively sounds, but if it is something that gets taught, the first impression of what it sounds like won't be so much of an issue..
Instead they teach is formulas we will never used in life
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!
This is only true to an extent, at least today in October 2022, but the crux of your argument is that recycling plastic is not sustainable and that is true.
No matter the methods we employ to make plastic as reusable as possible, it will eventually need to be thrown away, and new molds will be made.
There may exist an amount plastic we can produce per year that is sustainable, but which plastic products that would include and how much is frankly a question we are no longer in a position to ask ourselves.
Three words for plastic - mining, smelting and refining - more damage done to the environment
It pisses me off when people don't recycle. Especially when we have single stream. IT CANT BE ANY EASIER
The problem with the plastics is that it can be recycled ONLY up to 7 times (polluting the water and the air during the process), and then it gets dumped back into the ocean/landfills poisoning all around it, including you. The only solution is the stop buying anything made of it and urge the companies to stop producing it, because the planet will get destroyed. It's that serious.
Ko Br really??? I wasn't aware of that. Wow. Goodness gracious.
Ko Br that sounded really sarcastic on my part but it wasn't meant to be
I still do not know why we do not reuse plastic not like they are that bad if anything they should just rinse the bottles make e,m straight and sell them again.
TheRoyalPotatoKing -nothing - nothing - nothing technically better than dumping it, but the other downside of plastics is that it will leak (release) the BPA and the other cancer causing chemicals into your drink (even if it says "BPA free"). Refillable /reusable glass bottle perhaps?
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 :)
"Don't worry, it gets better. The plastic then gets shredded" That's not better!
***** at which point you recycle it again.
clamwhacker Most plastics cannot be recycled in the true sense of the word. They can be reused a few times by making them into lower grade plastics. Glass, steel and aluminium can be recycled indefinitely.
+Lugh Summerson Quote oh aha Frey a
100% with you! I don`t understand why this video got thumbs down...
daffy more lol we need less people, cuz more people means more resources used which is bad. What we really need is educated people aware of this problem so we can do something
3:23 "Okay, this sounds pretty bad too, but trust me, it gets better."
*_The blocks are shredded into tiny pieces_*
Ye
Who else here because of online school?
@Eva Calleja me
Me
me lol
Me
me
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.
More details about recycling:
Whatsapp:+86 15107149073
Twitter:@Mr_Scott66
More suprise for you.
Valeria Katalnikova your spot on .
To be note
I have just seen your comment and I think you are right. The only solution is to not create the waste.
Valeria Katalnikova well it’s better than just throwing it in General Waste 😒
It is frustrating that we know the right thing to do but we are just not doing it nearly enough.
it's like 3 little pigs but plastic bottles version
but seriously this needs to be made into a short story book
Mm
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!
Nancy, congratulations. I do hope your school has a focus on reducing waste. Recycling the last R: refuse, reduce, reuse, then recycle.
Is it a JOKE ?? IT IS A SHAME ! This is just a trap of conscious, are you serious ? Don't you know that only 7% of recycling goes to effective recycle? That this recycle process has an end, because of the properties of the polymers? ANd to make believe to people that they are doing right, recycling plastics, is to make them look to the wrong place! It's a FAKE news.
This CYCLE of bottle 3 DECYCLE >> The plastic will finish somewhere Allways AT THE END... That means the "cool" bottle 3 is just going to be bottle 1 or 2, but not Recyclable : because of th mix with other materials, and the INCAPACITY of recycling this stuff!
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.
Why is that?
@@wispy9859 plastic degrades over time (most varieties of plastic become less strong after being repeatedly compressed/melted/shredded to be used in other products) and will generate microplastics. After a certain point, they can't be reused anymore.
your comment is wrong too
Good video. Also, all should remember that "reduce" and "reuse" are both even more effective methods of reducing pollution.
The most detailed and complex way to tell people to recycle, yet it is the best way.
3:39 Wow, I had no idea you could make a wooden bench out of plastic!
That’s plastic
@@p4gash thanks for the correction. I've been naively spending the last 5 years thinking all chairs are made of wood
*5 years*
@@Purely4subs Omg haha!
keys
his voice is heavenly
Ikr
This should be shown everywhere so people who used plastic can see the good side of plastic instead of throwing away!
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.
*l e s s e r . e v i l s*
me after this video talking with my chair : hi bottle 3, hi bottle 3 brothers
Recycling is not a solution. Only not producing and not buying anything made of plastic is. Plastic industry executives have been aware already in the fifties where this was going to, but propaganda helped them. Also the bank managers helped them by financing them. What's odd is that they knew they were poisoning their own children, in the long term, not to mention ours. It's time to close all of the plastic factories as they are polluting the water, the landfills and whole of the food chain.
Recycling won't stop pollution, but it can reduce it. This has already been studied multiple times.
The thing is - if we close plastic factories then we kind of all die because it wouldn't be too far of a leap to assume that more than half of the products we use indirectly and directly are based on plastics or utilize plastics in some function, and many of these products' plastic usage cannot be substituted out for other materials
Are you forgetting that plastic "happened" like only 100 years ago whereas civilization is here for a bit longer. Also, theoretically you could substitute the plastic with e.g. rubber, wood as it is not a crucial/functioning part of most of the products (electronic devices...).
I don't want to live in the previous century, thank you. Recycling is not the solution but it clearly is part of it. I agree we use too much plastic but if we only use recycled plastic then we can stop the pollution of it without going to darker ages.
Who's saying anything about the previous century because you could totally replace plastic, save yr. money and environment. Plastic gets broken easily and ok if the biodegradable one was produced, but that's not the case. Also, alternative systems would work, for example when going to the store for a product, for example cleaning product/detergent/shampoo, the buyers could always take the same previously purchased/branded/luxury designed container (metal, alluminium..), but that would not be in the interest of the plastic industry. Just remember when going to the beach and spotting a plastic trash, it totally ruins the impression. Yes, what about the 3D printers...well, leave it in the digital form and enjoy the meadow/beach...
Also if you collect the plastic yourself you get money. I gather all the plastic I find and once a month I take it to the recycling center and make about $70 or more. Just another incentive to recycle.
Where do you live fabienzaca? That is great, is that part of the plastic bank organization?
+fabienzaca better don't even buy anything made of plastic-save yourself time and many as there are alternatives to any piece of plastic.
i have an app called “OceanHero” (it is a search engine) and for every 5 searches it takes one plastic bottle out of the ocean. oceanhero.today/ this is their website you can watch a video on it here it’s only a 1:28 seconds about.oceanhero.today/how-it-works. Please consider adding it to your browser, it’s free and easy.
I wish i could do that too but that fecility is not in my country but I try to keep my surroundings clean :)
This video encourages using SUP (single use plastic) by means of recycling as the answer. However, the amount of energy (carbon) used in the process of down-cycling offsets any benefit of recycling. We need to focus on refusing, reusing (refill not landfill) then reducing and recycling. Plastic is not sustainable and not a viable option in a rapidly warming ecosystem
Also the waste waters in the recycling process.
I heard that after recycling, a plastic bottle doesn't retain its full quality. So, they are used in the production of other products. How long would the cycle continue? I agree with you. The best solution is to reduce the use of plastic bottle.
@@chamnabsonn282 It will never be recycle after, because of the mix with other materials... It's a bad fake news.
I love how you present your plastic cycle show and the picture you present
REUSE Plastic or do not use it at all. Recycling is, in most cases, a Myth.
The future MUST be durable and Compostable Stuff. It's already reality and it's possible.
Even compostable materials are problematic if and when they are destined for a landfill. Given that chemical environment, compostable materials do not readily break down. We can take individuals actions but we must foremost work to change industry standards and polices where we can.
Compostable materials are difficult to make on a large scale and have high Co2 emmisions
So stick to plastic but use it properly
Great video! Thank Ted so much for giving us such helpful information.
Real good animation, thank you. Wish ZAR had more recycling options.
Thank you for this video! Been working on recycling plastics and it will be added point to show this to potential customers.
Anyone here for school?
Saddest episode ive seen so far.
I just said it was sad, I didn't say anything about an essay dude. thx anywy
+ogarzabello you have commented this multiple times
Beautifully done and animated! I'm so moved...
Most plastics can't be recycled, only downcycled. We should stop buying single use plastics and the companies that make them will find an alternative
who's here because their teacher sent this to them
me 💔
me
Me
Me
Me😂
Just love the way the video is concluded.
I like this educational video. Very helpful with the contrast and why it is useful and good to recycle.
Great stuff. I think most people think that a plastic bottle will be recycled again into a plastic bottle. It's that confusion we have to eliminate.
i am at awe, feels like sobbing and made up my mind to explain this to my class tomorrow.
in a 4 minutes video i learned everything, amazing! really thank you!
I really like the voice of Addison Anderson! :D
i agree
; )
That's scary we will die if we continue like this😭
DON'T PUT EMOJIS!!! THEY SUCK!
@@snail123O 🙄
@@snail123O What-Chu talking 'bout Willis? Emojis are great!
The 1st bottle's story is tragic. Can't imagine how it feels, lonely, unloved.
The 2nd bottle's story is as bad as the 1st but, the feeling of being trashed into a dump is just unreal, as the bottle too, has a heart of its own. This story is bad as well.
The 3d bottle's story is a happy one, as the bottle rejoices over being loved in another form, this story is the best one.
The story that i liked was the 3d. People have to take action on mother nature! Love the video!
I'm impressed that this video is posted in 2015 and it already mentioned micro plastics compared here in our country which aired micro plastics just a week ago.
😒😒 we're already 3 years late
Anyway great job as always TedEd i love your videos!! 😊😊
This was a really good one.
ZimmerSquash Agree, loln
"Empty, and discarded"
Damn, I felt that.
Just like me
This touched my heart
These school videos are filling up my recommended feed and it’s just like whyyyyy
Requesting biodegradable bottles to be used. Bottles could be made from hemp instead. The current recycling program isn't as perfect as shown here. It takes oil to make plastic bottles, enough to provide fuel to 1 million cars each year... 80% Still ends up in land fills. Stop buying bottled water, it is not of better quality then tap water (tap has more regulations) and most of the bottled water does NOT come from that beautiful spring creek, but is actually filtered tap water. Something you can do at home for much, much less.
really well explained! good job
This video has a great lesson but it is also told in a very engaging way.
Wish we could go back in timeeeeee😃
Everything seemed touching from the beginning the last 1 min slapped the whole concept
This is such an awesome video!!!! AWESOME!! Thank you Emma!
Brilliantly explained.
Why did bottle 3 get a happy ending? That's water discrimination!
TRIGEGRED
BOMB TRIGGERED!!! (explosion)
Jeez man. so brutal!
(i love it)
more like bottle discrimination
Only you can end water discrimination by recycling
Reduce and reuse.
THEN recycle
Refuse !!!
THanks, needed that for a presentation helped alot!
I loved the way you gave life to the video
Spanish dubbing, pleeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaasssssseeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!! I want to be able to share this brilliant animation with my friends. My local government is considering installing a land fill to eliminate the open sky dump site. We all must help raise awareness!
Great video, I'll think twice about trashing a plastic bottle.
ogarzabello
If you're not trolling, thanks for responding, insightful.
ogarzabello How about discussing it with an environmental engineer, like myself, instead? Some points:
-Solubility increases with increasing biodegradability. That's a quote from the USGS. You can google it since you can't link in comments.
-Well designed landfills do prevent leachate getting into ground water. But even well designed liners are expected to only last a few decades to a century. Add in the fact that the incredibly compressed waste in a landfill makes it take even longer for the waste to degrade and that spells big trouble for the future.
-I'm having trouble understanding how plastic that has been "washed" by salt water makes it okay for marine life to eat the pellets it's become.
-I've had gold fish before. And there's been food floating at the top because too much was put in... Regardless of if they starve to death from feeling full, you still think it's ok for them to eat plastic?
Basically what it comes down to is a person who tries to emphasize their points with capital letters and uses the term "sheepol" (sic) can't be taken too seriously.
I sense a flame war. Better take cover.
ogarzabello Hi, troll. Are you enjoying making people more stupid?
brenticious good comment
My school doing that and it's called eco bricks, it's where you fill the plastic bottles with rubish and it's now a brick that's been reduced and you could make a bench, a boat and other cool, awesome stuff as well !!!!!!
Thank you for the explanation , this is so upsetting what we all have done to our planet,
Such an informative video. This is why we do constant recycling in our homes and when it comes to promoting our brands/businesses CLEO is our number source since it has the vision to help lessen the toxicity in our environment.
0:52 Machines BOTTLE FLIP tho.
**dab**
Bottle three is the best!
You just did my homework for me
Thank you
You forgot to mention that most plastic can only be "recycled" once. Plastic is not like glass.
After the second time it can actually be burned and generate electricity or converted into fuel for automotive use. This is not really done currently but is very possible.
ah yes. I heard that one of the countries in Europe does just that. Of course, then we have the problem of burning...the energy needed ,,,
or not even get produced in the first place. Burning generates toxic gasses.
Reduce > Reuse > Recycle. The huge amount of energy input for recycling is not environmental friendly either.
this clearly reveal how important recycle is, thank u for the message
Recycling is not stressed loud enough out in public and definitely should be taught as a child in school and in home
so if there are water soluble chemicals that leach out in the land fill, should we be drinking water out of plastic?
onerugrat I have the same question!
onerugrat Technically there are still chemicals that will leach out in your own bottle (like BPA), but it's only one small bottle with such a small amount that it won't hurt you. Now a landfill with bottles piled on top of each other is another story... Same could go for drinking from bottles every day for a long period of time...
brenticious I drink out of water bottles every day...
Claus Bertels That sucks
brenticious I believe(not certain) that BPA was banned from plastic bottles in California a few years ago.
We still have MARS ..........
*to destroy*
bruhh wow u literally dont care
Y E E T T H E E C H O S Y S T E M
THIS IS WHY RECYCLING IS SO IMPORTANT!
Thank you for teaching me about this
In my country we get money for recyceling bottles and cans
Great video, but unlike the video where the plastic bottles are melted and made again into bottles, how come so many plastic bottles say that they're made of x% recycled material instead of 100%?
SentinelPrimek the term recycle should be replaced with downcycle for a lot of things. A easy example is paper which because of the ink (and maybe other things) we add, gets less usefull every time it's "recycled"
SentinelPrimek You can't produce plastic bottles to 100% of recycled material as the quality is just not the same as that of newly polymerized plastics.
So simple and interesting way of communication............
My husband and I just started using thermoses .I let our tap water breath a few hours to get rid of the chlorine .It evaporates out of the water. I have great tasting water then. And I am not adding to the plastic soup! Sharing this video .Thank you!!!!!!
3:21 WALL-E!!!!!!
What happens with the water used to wash bottle 3?
Goes into the sewers
What an eye opener !!
Excellent video to reflect with my students.
This is why there’s a thing called REDUSE REUSE AND RECYLE do that dude!
*REDUCE
"It's a Casio on a plastic beach /
It's a Casio on a plastic beach /
It's a Styrofoam deep sea landfill /
It's a Styrofoam deep sea landfill /
It's automated computer speech /
It's automated computer speech /
It's a Casio on a plastic beach /
It's a Casio..."
u wot mate?
It's from the song Plastic Beach by Gorillaz
This is a great video for young learners!
I watched this with the entire school were I work - what a clear message - people need to be educated about our planet. Thank you
Is it a JOKE ?? IT IS A SHAME ! This is just a trap of conscious, are you serious ? Don't you know that only 7% of recycling goes to effective recycle? That this recycle process has an end, because of the properties of the polymers? And to make believe to people that they are doing right, recycling plastics, is to make them look to the wrong place! It's a FAKE news.
The CYCLE of bottle 3 DECYCLE >> The plastic will finish somewhere Allways AT THE END... That means the "cool" bottle 3 is just going to be bottle 1 or 2, but not Recyclable : because of the mix with other materials, and the INCAPACITY of recycling this stuff!
Very useful and senceful video. Great job. Keep going and educate the maximum people.🤗
Why would you throw it away?! Flip it
TRIGGERED
The Kobster 2016 meme bro
the world is in safe hands ;)
The Kobster who uses the word flip lol ;D
It’s the best video I have ever seen to promote recycling!
Unfortunately, bottle manufacturers don´t recycle that 2 of the fillings and the Ocean´s Garbage Patches.
I wish there was a button on the TedEd home page where it said... "Like All Videos"
The comment section help me to answer my Midterm Exam ;)))))))
How did the plastic get to the sea again? How does it get from a rubbish bin or the floor to the sea?
Thankyou for your help
We watched this in science at school today
don't buy into the propaganda
@@froggieshampoo9821 it's true
hey why did bottle 3 get spared that's bottlist
TRIGGERED
Thank you I really needed this