Name: What really happens to the plastic you throw away?
Uploaded: 2017-09-07T20:33:40Z
Duration: 3 min 52 s
Description: 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. [Directed by Sharon Colman, narrated by Addison Anderson, music by Peter Gosling].

Emma Bryce: What really happens to the plastic you throw away?

What really happens to the plastic you throw away?

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. [Directed by Sharon Colman, narrated by Addison Anderson, music by Peter Gosling].

What happens to a single discarded plastic bottle can have staggering consequences for ecosystems and humans alike. One bottle might spend a thousand years leaching toxins in a landfill, while another joins the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, fragmenting into microplastics that pollute oceans and food chains. Only through recycling does a plastic bottle escape this destructive fate, becoming raw material for something new. The journey each bottle takes reveals the urgent need for responsible disposal and recycling.