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The Great Pacific Garbage Patch - Long and Short Effects of Waste
Description
This lesson looks at the waste that plastic products create and the effect it is having on the Pacific Ocean's ecosystem from the accumulation of debris in the North Pacific Gyre. This could be used as an extension to the life cycle analysis lesson 2.3 Taking Stock in the Tread Lightly Teacher toolkit.
Time Required: 1-2 classes
Learning Objectives
By the end of the lesson students will:
- Know what the Pacific Garbage Patch is and the consequence the plastic build-up is having on the fish and birds in the area
- Understand where the plastic is coming from and see how ingrained its use is in our society
- Study two cases where countries are trying to reduce their plastic use (Ireland and Italy)
- Begin to think about how they can reduce their plastic consumption on a daily basis
Teaching Process
Part A - Extend the life cycle analysis from Tread Lightly toolkit, 2.3 Taking Stock OR do a mini analysis of what materials and food students use on a daily basis and how much plastic it uses
Part B - Prezi presentation on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch/discussion questions
Part C - Case study on plastic bag tax and ban in Ireland and Italy
Teeachers Notes
Background: The North Pacific Gyre is a section of the Pacific ocean where ocean currents meet, creating a vortex where a high concentration of debris from land and ships are accumulating. Plastic does not biodegrade, but rather photo-degrade, meaning it just breaks into smaller and smaller pieces that are now diffusing through the ocean, creating a “plastic soup”. Plants and animal life are mistaking the pieces of plastic for plankton or small fish, causing death and the accumulation of plastic and toxic substances through the food chain.
There is great information on: http://algalita.org/AlgalitaFAQs.htm about the problem, plastic, long and short term effects on the ecosystem and potential solutions. Before the lesson with students, read through the FAQ or read through the FAQ as a class after the lesson if students want more information.
Algalita is the organization that does much of the research on the garbage patch, founded by Captain Charles Moore, who discovered and currently performs extensive research on the garbage patch.
Part A: Connect with Life cycle analysis from last class (TL activity 2.3) (10 min)
1. Ask students to name the product they picked to do the life cycle analysis on and see how many of these products were either
a. Made of plastic
b. Came in some sort of packaging (plastic wrap, Styrofoam, used a plastic bag to carry it home)
2. Make a table of the items that used or were made of plastic on the board
3. Add any additional items that students picked from their analysis of their living spaces that contain plastic, but they didn’t do their life cycle analysis on
4. Add items in the school, grocery stores, convenient stores that are made of plastic or contain plastic wrap
5. Comment on how common plastic is in our lives
6. If your class did not do TL lesson 2.3 then make your chart from steps 4-6, on plastic items we use in daily life.
Part B: Where does our garbage go? (30-40 min)
http://prezi.com/rw4gsh60_zjx/plastic-great-pacific-garbage-patch/
(note: a prezi is very much like a powerpoint presentation. Follow the link and press play on the prezi. Navigate from slide to slide using either the arrow keys on your keyboard or the ones in the bottom right corner of the prezi screen. To enter fullscreen mode, click on “more” on the bottom right and then “fullscreen”. You can download the prezi to your computer if you do not have an internet connection in the classroom, but there is a youtube video embedded in the prezi, it will not work if you do not have an internet connection)
All this plastic is thrown out when we are done using it. But where does it all go once we’ve “thrown it away”? Engage with students in a conversation about where the garbage ends up. Use the provided prezi to inform students about:
1. Landfills and Great Pacific Garbage Patch
2. How our garbage gets there
3. Impact on the ocean and terrestrial ecosystems
1. Short term
2. Long term
3. Fill out on board or chart paper with class.
4. What we can do to stop this
- Start a discussion with questions in prezi, then go to case study on taxing for plastic bags in Ireland.
Part C: Case Study (20-30min or can be carried over to next class with homework about what is being done locally to reduce plastic use)
1. Look at programs used across the world to reduce the use of plastic bags
* Case study: Ireland Plastic bags, Italian ban on plastic bags
Ireland plastic bag tax
http://www.reuseit.com/learn-more/top-facts/about-irelands-plastax
Italy Plastic Bag Ban
http://www.aolnews.com/2010/12/31/italy-bans-plastic-bags-in-2011/
2. Divide class into two and have each read the case study and ask one representative to share with the class Ireland and Italy’s case
3. Ask class: Would either of these solutions work in our community?
4. Discuss what is being done in their communities to reduce plastic use
* If students don’t know, assign a homework task to find out.
5. More discussion questions for the class to talk about include:
* Could a similar tax or ban ever be implemented on plastic bottles for water or beverages?
* Would a ban or tax on packaging work?
o Packaging for products
o Packaging for fast food
o Who would pay for it?
Other Tools
- Computer - Internet access - Projector - Case study print outs
