STEAM education for plastic-free primary schools
News relating to sustainability, environment, policies, campaigns taking place around the world.
Are you looking for some inspiration on what you can do at school to minimise plastic?
Check how a group of primary school children from Bristol (UK) have persuaded their headmaster to install refill machines instead of milk cartons to help the environment. They save around 150 cartons per day, which adds up to about 28,000 a year!
Interesting article with recent data on micro-plastics and nano-plastics recently found in the blood of healthy adults. According to the article most “alternative” plastics are not safer for us, despite their claims.
Credits: www.theconversation.com
NOTPLA: This UK based start-up company that substitutes plastic for seaweed has just won the prestigious 1million £ Earthshot Prize.
Globally abundant and fast-growing, seaweed doesn’t require freshwater, land nor fertiliser. This sea vegetable can turn out to be one of our greatest weapons against plastic pollution as well as climate change.
Read more
According to this interesting article from Nature, reusing and recycling plastics and other materials is not enough. To achieving a circular economy, we must make, use, demand less stuff to begin with.
Plastic Free July® is a global movement that helps millions of people be part of the solution to plastic pollution – so we can have cleaner streets, oceans, and beautiful communities. The challenge is designed to support you, your community, or your school, in reducing single use plastics throughout the month of July.
There are resources and ideas online to help you get involved, plus take the quiz to be part of their research. Will you be part of Plastic Free July by choosing to refuse single-use plastics?
A rather pessimistic article on plastic recycling, with a lot of arguments for why recycling doesn’t work today – and is not expected to work in the future. Although it stems from data in the USA, the situation and the challenges described stand for Europe and all over the world.
Microplastics permeate the globe from the oceans’ depths to the highest mountaintop — and our bodies. Here’s everything you need to know.
Source: The Week
Refill is an award-winning UK-based campaign from “City to Sea” to help people live with less plastic. Anyone can download the free app to tap into a global network of places to reduce, reuse and refill. From a coffee on your commute to drinking water on the go, or even shopping with less plastic.
How do you consider the role of art in transmitting powerful messages to the public? These “Plastic popsicles” are a great example how the visual arts can engage a broader public in issues of water pollution.
Students from New Taipei City collected samples from urban rivers, creeks and ports which they then froze in moulds and preserved in resin. ‘We hope when more people see this they can change their lifestyles,’ they said.
Credits: theguardian.com
Read the full article here
Recycling can be complex: Some people are uncertain about how it helps the planet, while others consider it a waste of time, money and energy.
Nonetheless, things have changed in the last years. More and more industries are trying to reduce their wastes and consumer behavior has shifted. Greater emphasis is now on reducing, reusing, and recycling, as people are becoming more conscious of the world’s waste problem.
Yet still, misconceptions remain. This article sheds light on six popular myths.