Earth Day 2024
Planet vs. Plastic
Please adapt this so it is suitable for your pupils
Objective - to understand that making plastic takes lots of energy
We all know that plastic is a BIG environmental problem
Which of the following statements about plastic are true?
73% of beach litter worldwide is plastic
true
90% of seabirds will be eating plastic by 2050
false
99% of seabirds will be eating plastic by 2050
Single-use plastics are illegal in some parts of the world
true
The average time that a plastic bag is used is just 3 weeks.
false
It’s 12 minutes.
One million plastic bottles are bought every minute
true
The average person eats 70,000 microplastics each year
true
Multiple choice
How much plastic is used for single use plastic?
12% 36% 51%
Multiple choice
How much plastic is used for single use plastic?
36%
Multiple choice
How much plastic waste is recycled?
80% 40% 20%
Multiple choice
How much plastic waste is recycled?
20%
oceans
burning
landfill
Activity 1
With a partner choose one part of your day and create an audit for every single bit of single use plastic you use
Which of these could you replace easily?
Which would be harder to replace?
Activity 1
Eating breakfast
Activity 1
getting ready for school
What links
to
Nearly every piece of plastic begins life as a fossil fuel
Drilling for oil
involves:
Deforestation uses energy to destroy forests AND removes carbon sinks
Methane (CH4) flares
108 million metric tonnes of CO2e (equivalent) every single year
In 2015 plastic production emissions were
over 200 million metric tonnes of CO2e
as much as 45 million passenger vehicles driven non stop for one year
Plastics are expected to be the biggest source of new demand for oil.
From 2020 to 2040, BP expects plastics to represent 95 percent of the net growth in demand for oil.
Emissions from plastic production are only going to rise. Rapidly.
Nothing will stop this apart from reducing plastic production and keeping fossil fuels in the ground.
2050
1/5 of oil will be needed for plastics
Activity 2
1/5 of fossil fuels are needed to make plastics. This is a very energy intensive process.
Draw the life of a plastic bottle thinking about the energy needed at each stage.
You can choose the ending.
Activity 2
The life of a plastic bottle (example)
Drilling for oil
Turning oil into plastic
Turning plastic into plastic bottles
Filling plastic bottles
Transporting to shop
Using the bottle
What comes next?
Bottle goes in bin
Bottle goes to landfill
Shows energy
Can you think of a more planet friendly ending?
Activity 3
consequences
problems
causes
What are some of the problems of plastic?
Create a problem tree for solving the plastic problem.
consequences
plastic is bad for the planet
water pollution
disposed of incorrectly
air pollution
microplastics in our bodies
made out of fossil fuels
takes lots of energy to make
manufacturing releases emissions
too much is being made
too much single use plastic
problems
causes
Activity 4
As a class/ group, collect your single use plastic for a whole week.
The energy required to create 100g of plastic is about 1 kWh.
Weigh the plastic you have collected. How many kWh would have been needed to create that plastic. What else could you have used that energy for?
Average household electricity consumption is 8 - 10 kWh per day.
A 100-watt light bulb operating for ten hours would use 1kWh
A 2 kW hair dryer operating for 1/2 hour would use 1 kWh
A 50-watt laptop operating for twenty hours would use 1kWh
A 1,000-watt (1 kW) toaster operating for 1 hour would use 1 kWh
How can we reduce the amount of energy that is consumed for plastic production?
_____________________
_____________________
__________________________________________
My plastic pledge
Visit https://energysparks.uk
for more activities about energy