Community Screening of The Story of Plastic

There's still time to register for the Champaign-area community online screening of The Story of Plastic. Upon registration you'll receive an email with a link to view the film online, as well as a link to participate in a Zoom panel discussion later this evening (June 10, 2020). 

From the Champaign County Environmental Stewards (CCES) Facebook Event:

'This film exposes the extent of plastic waste and the effects it has on the local and global environment, climate, justice, and health.

About this Event
Champaign County Environmental Stewards (CCES), Food and Water Watch-Midwest, and the Prairie Group of the Sierra Club Illinois Chapter are teaming up to bring you an important film. "The Story of Plastics" brings into focus an alarming, man-made crisis, and the heroes who work every day to tackle the problem. You can be part of the worldwide movement to #BreakFreeFromPlastic: storyofplastic.org @brkfreeplastic.

Please RSVP at the link here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-story-of-plastic-tickets-108142998620

You will be invited to a screening of “The Story of Plastics" and a panel and Q&A discussion on Zoom after the last screening on Wednesday, June 10, 2020 at 7:00 pm central time.

Screenings will become available 48-72 hours before the panel discussion when you will receive an email with two links: one to access “The Story of Plastics" screening, and one to access the Zoom panel discussion, which will be held after the last screening. We will send both links to the email you used to respond to the RSVP.'

My personal reactions: If you've never seen images of the magnitude of the plastic waste problem, I encourage you to view this film. I'm quite familiar with such images, and I was aware that products are packaged differently in different countries with different laws, and I knew plastic sachets were an issue, but this film does a good job of illustrating just how much of an issue they are elsewhere in the world. For me, it underscores that although there are companies that 'do the right thing' because it's in line with their organizational values, it's all too often the case that corporations will do the bare minimum to comply with regulations. In other words, environmental regulations matter a great deal. As citizens, we should appreciate those which we have and make sure our elected officials know that we support such regulations and will NOT accept their being rolled back. As an individual, I'm disgusted that manufacturers willfully sell all manner of products (e.g. shampoo, dish soap, laundry soap, etc.) in single-use sachets that are meant for daily use, not just for travel-sized options or for single portions of condiments. It's irresponsible and unjust to inflict such waste upon certain countries and not others. In general, although there are applications in which plastic will always make sense (e.g. some medical equipment, items that are meant to be durable in certain conditions, etc.), our society needs to step away from single-use plastic as much as possible, and think more carefully about reusable packaging options.