Introduction
Shivam Tyagi www.Pexels.com
There are three main ways the plastic we use every day ends up in the oceans and washed into beaches
Throwing plastic in the bin when it could be recycled - Plastic you put in the bin ends up in landfill. When rubbish is being transported to landfill, plastic is often blown away because it’s so lightweight. From there, it can eventually clutter around drains and enter rivers and the sea this way.
Littering - Litter dropped on the street doesn’t stay there. Rainwater and wind carries plastic waste into streams and rivers, and through drains. Drains lead to the ocean! Careless and improper waste disposal is also a big contributor – illegal dumping of waste adds greatly to the plastic surge in our seas.
Products that go down the drain - Many of the products we use daily are flushed down toilets, including wet wipes, cotton buds and sanitary products. Microfibers are even released into waterways when we wash our clothes in the washing machine. They are too small to be filtered out by waste water plants and end up being consumed by small marine species, eventually even ending up in our food chain.
Task
Catherine Sheila www.Pexels.com
Plastic is all around us. Some types of plastic are accepted in kerbside collections offered by local councils and municipalities. However, other types are more difficult to find a standard, local solution for and this is due to a number of reasons, including complexity, size, high collection costs, or lack of value in the council/muncialty recycling system.
Your task is an entrepreneur you wish to use some of the plastic that is found in beach clean up to make other products. You can only use a certain type of rigid beach plastic.
All rigid beach plastics are accepted. "Beach" plastics are defined as any rigid plastics found along any shoreline (i.e. rivers, beaches, bays, lakes). An easy way to communicate "rigid" plastics to collectors is anything that you can't tie in a knot.
Tip to know if it is rigid plastic: If you cannot tie a knot with your plastic, then it is rigid.
Not accepted: Soft or flexible plastics like nylon rope, fishing nets, and plastic bags are not usable for recycling.
