1
00:00:09,262 --> 00:00:11,592
Hello, welcome back to the Live Lightly
podcast.

2
00:00:11,592 --> 00:00:13,262
I'm your host, Jessica Franklin.

3
00:00:13,262 --> 00:00:17,522
Today I'm joined by Aidan Cherron from the
Earth Day Organization.

4
00:00:17,522 --> 00:00:22,362
He's the director of end plastic
initiatives.

5
00:00:22,362 --> 00:00:29,542
And we're going to have a discussion about
plastic pollution as it pertains to its

6
00:00:29,542 --> 00:00:34,722
impact on the ocean for World Oceans Day
episode.

7
00:00:34,722 --> 00:00:36,068
Welcome, Aidan.

8
00:00:36,262 --> 00:00:37,682
Hey, thank you so much for having me.

9
00:00:37,682 --> 00:00:39,038
I really appreciate it.

10
00:00:39,094 --> 00:00:40,194
for joining me again.

11
00:00:40,194 --> 00:00:44,154
I really appreciate it and look forward to
our conversation today.

12
00:00:44,154 --> 00:00:49,114
I just want to start sometimes this
information and this conversation feels

13
00:00:49,114 --> 00:00:50,814
really like gloomy and doomy.

14
00:00:50,814 --> 00:00:52,834
And what was your word for it?

15
00:00:52,834 --> 00:00:57,494
You had a word for it on our first
episode.

16
00:00:57,494 --> 00:01:01,294
Yes, a bummer issue.

17
00:01:01,294 --> 00:01:03,294
And that it is plastic can be that.

18
00:01:03,294 --> 00:01:08,118
But we're going to talk about it just to
raise awareness about the issues that.

19
00:01:08,118 --> 00:01:16,838
this part of human impact is having on the
oceans, not to, create fear or a sense of

20
00:01:16,838 --> 00:01:22,858
doom and gloom, but really just to offer
people the opportunity to have enough

21
00:01:22,858 --> 00:01:26,858
knowledge about what's going on, because
knowledge is power.

22
00:01:26,858 --> 00:01:32,198
And when we know, then we can make new
choices as individuals and start to shift

23
00:01:32,198 --> 00:01:36,526
the tides in a positive direction for the
planet and for...

24
00:01:36,526 --> 00:01:38,346
the oceans of the world.

25
00:01:38,346 --> 00:01:41,016
So I'll just start by prefacing it with
that.

26
00:01:41,016 --> 00:01:45,446
And then I'm just going to let you take
the floor to tell us a little bit about

27
00:01:45,446 --> 00:01:52,586
why plastic pollution is so prevalent in
not only the oceans around our country,

28
00:01:52,586 --> 00:01:53,890
but around the world.

29
00:01:54,406 --> 00:01:54,876
Awesome.

30
00:01:54,876 --> 00:01:55,886
Yeah, that sounds great.

31
00:01:55,886 --> 00:02:00,476
And it is a bummer of a topic, but there
are some solutions out there for it.

32
00:02:00,476 --> 00:02:09,488
So I hope we can get into those a little
bit as well.

33
00:02:09,488 --> 00:02:14,398
living here off the coast of Southern
California, and you grew up off the coast,

34
00:02:14,398 --> 00:02:21,858
the East Coast, in North Carolina, you go
to the ocean and you don't really see

35
00:02:21,858 --> 00:02:23,698
plastic floating around in the ocean.

36
00:02:23,698 --> 00:02:26,498
People are not swimming through plastic.

37
00:02:26,498 --> 00:02:31,246
You're not walking on our beaches here in
this country, luckily.

38
00:02:31,246 --> 00:02:35,806
And so I think it's just a little bit of a
hard topic for people to wrap their heads

39
00:02:35,806 --> 00:02:37,866
around because they don't see it.

40
00:02:37,866 --> 00:02:44,306
And it's not a direct impact to people
here in our country, but it is a huge

41
00:02:44,306 --> 00:02:44,736
problem.

42
00:02:44,736 --> 00:02:51,386
So can you just give us a little bit of
background as to, how this has become a

43
00:02:51,386 --> 00:02:57,146
problem, even in a country where we have
curbside pickup for our garbage and for

44
00:02:57,146 --> 00:03:01,166
our recyclables in some areas as well.

45
00:03:01,166 --> 00:03:04,760
and how this even became a thing.

46
00:03:05,222 --> 00:03:11,122
Yeah, so every year there's over 400
million tons of plastic are produced

47
00:03:11,122 --> 00:03:12,182
globally.

48
00:03:12,262 --> 00:03:17,782
And then 8 million metric tons of that is
ending up in our oceans every year.

49
00:03:17,782 --> 00:03:23,362
And while we may not see it as prevalent
here in the United States, plastic doesn't

50
00:03:23,362 --> 00:03:24,142
know borders.

51
00:03:24,142 --> 00:03:27,522
And unfortunately, a lot of our waste is
being floated overseas to different

52
00:03:27,522 --> 00:03:33,182
countries, we're directly paying these
countries to take our waste and kind of

53
00:03:33,182 --> 00:03:33,798
manage.

54
00:03:33,798 --> 00:03:34,778
manage it.

55
00:03:34,778 --> 00:03:37,698
In reality, we're just trying to find a
new place for it.

56
00:03:37,698 --> 00:03:41,818
Or it's just floating in our oceans and
it's more easily washed up on the shores

57
00:03:41,818 --> 00:03:44,438
of those beaches.

58
00:03:44,438 --> 00:03:49,258
Because of that, we may not think that
it's a huge issue here in the United

59
00:03:49,258 --> 00:03:50,778
States as much.

60
00:03:50,778 --> 00:03:52,748
But in reality, it's there.

61
00:03:52,748 --> 00:03:56,368
It's just there as microplastic rather
than macroplastic.

62
00:03:56,368 --> 00:04:00,218
So the plastic you can see and the plastic
you can hold, it's down in these tiny

63
00:04:00,218 --> 00:04:00,708
little nurdles.

64
00:04:00,708 --> 00:04:01,382
So you don't really...

65
00:04:01,382 --> 00:04:05,022
pick up on and kind of mixes in with the
sand, or it's in the form of cigarette

66
00:04:05,022 --> 00:04:06,982
butts, which are just buried underneath
the sand.

67
00:04:06,982 --> 00:04:11,342
And those are one of the more common forms
of plastic pollution that people don't

68
00:04:11,342 --> 00:04:15,642
realize is actually plastic, is the
cigarette filters.

69
00:04:15,642 --> 00:04:18,702
So while we may not see it, it's
definitely there.

70
00:04:18,702 --> 00:04:22,942
And then the larger issue with it all is
that when it starts to break down like

71
00:04:22,942 --> 00:04:26,212
that, it's able to float around and get
essentially anywhere.

72
00:04:26,212 --> 00:04:29,102
Like it's found down at the bottom of
Mariana Trench and then at the top of

73
00:04:29,102 --> 00:04:33,010
Mount Everest

74
00:04:33,010 --> 00:04:36,310
It's not the consumers fault in
particular, but it's just become so

75
00:04:36,310 --> 00:04:40,826
prevalent and just so easily able to get
to all these different places.

76
00:04:41,926 --> 00:04:48,066
Yeah, it's definitely becoming a mounting
issue and putting a pressure on not only

77
00:04:48,066 --> 00:04:53,216
the environment but on Marine life as well
when it enters the ocean.

78
00:04:53,216 --> 00:05:01,586
Can you talk about the Pacific garbage
patches I literally had no clue.

79
00:05:01,586 --> 00:05:06,546
I mean I am living in Southern California
now granted at that time seven years ago

80
00:05:06,546 --> 00:05:11,142
I'd only been here maybe four years and
I'm from Colorado so I

81
00:05:11,214 --> 00:05:15,714
definitely there is a disconnect between
plastic pollution at all.

82
00:05:15,714 --> 00:05:19,714
I thought I was recycling it when I put it
in my bin and it was taken away.

83
00:05:19,714 --> 00:05:23,734
I thought it was turning into another
plastic bottle or another plastic yogurt

84
00:05:23,734 --> 00:05:24,634
tub.

85
00:05:24,834 --> 00:05:30,374
And so when I learned about plastic
pollution seven years ago, particularly as

86
00:05:30,374 --> 00:05:36,714
it relates to the ocean and the Pacific
garbage patch, in addition to the five

87
00:05:36,714 --> 00:05:37,854
guyers,

88
00:05:38,286 --> 00:05:42,606
I also then started going down that rabbit
hole and learning more and more about

89
00:05:42,606 --> 00:05:49,486
plastic and what it's made of, which I
learned a few years prior to that and

90
00:05:49,486 --> 00:06:04,206
stopped putting food in it but beyond
that, I just started learning about how,

91
00:06:04,206 --> 00:06:08,886
unsustainable plastic was because it
wasn't actually getting recycled into

92
00:06:08,886 --> 00:06:10,926
another plastic, whatever.

93
00:06:10,926 --> 00:06:16,176
And so I just kind of wanted to start by
saying, if you've never heard of this,

94
00:06:16,176 --> 00:06:22,406
don't feel left out because I think a lot
of people haven't heard of this topic,

95
00:06:22,406 --> 00:06:23,606
this problem.

96
00:06:23,606 --> 00:06:29,356
And just because you haven't heard of it
doesn't mean it hasn't been existing.

97
00:06:29,356 --> 00:06:32,688
So can you just tell us a little bit about
what's going on there?

98
00:06:33,062 --> 00:06:38,262
Yeah, so in the United States,
unfortunately, only about 5 % of our

99
00:06:38,262 --> 00:06:41,702
plastic is truly recycled into a new
product.

100
00:06:41,702 --> 00:06:46,462
I think it's 86 % of it is ended up in
landfills and then another 9 % is being

101
00:06:46,462 --> 00:06:47,162
incinerated.

102
00:06:47,162 --> 00:06:52,502
And that leaves us with a rough estimate
of about 5 % that's truly recycled.

103
00:06:52,502 --> 00:06:56,822
And the reason because of that is due to
all the additive chemicals that go into

104
00:06:56,822 --> 00:06:57,798
plastic, maybe it.

105
00:06:57,798 --> 00:07:02,218
impossible for one, people to narrow down
what type of plastic it is, and two, for

106
00:07:02,218 --> 00:07:06,118
them to actually figure out what to do
with these tots of chemicals that are put

107
00:07:06,118 --> 00:07:10,758
into the plastic once it is then recycled
and then broken down.

108
00:07:10,798 --> 00:07:16,138
And then to relate that back to the Great
Pacific Garbage Patch it's looking like by

109
00:07:16,138 --> 00:07:20,178
2050, there'll be an estimated more
plastic in the oceans than fish.

110
00:07:20,178 --> 00:07:22,888
And that is by weight, not by amount.

111
00:07:22,888 --> 00:07:25,568
I think by amount, we might have already
surpassed that.

112
00:07:25,568 --> 00:07:26,822
I'm not sure.

113
00:07:26,822 --> 00:07:31,362
But by weight, there's definitely going to
be more plastic in the oceans than there

114
00:07:31,362 --> 00:07:33,182
will be fish.

115
00:07:33,182 --> 00:07:38,222
And that's because of how terrible our
waste systems are currently set up and how

116
00:07:38,222 --> 00:07:42,842
interconnected our waterways are and how
plastic is able just to permeate these

117
00:07:42,842 --> 00:07:44,292
waterways in so many different ways.

118
00:07:44,292 --> 00:07:49,202
So you're from Colorado, a landlocked
state, but eventually anything that's

119
00:07:49,202 --> 00:07:52,682
thrown into a river, anything that ends up
in a river in Colorado, is going to float

120
00:07:52,682 --> 00:07:53,870
into the ocean.

121
00:07:53,870 --> 00:07:54,370
Mm -hmm.

122
00:07:54,370 --> 00:07:57,450
on an aquarium on the Outer Banks for a
couple of years and I was doing the

123
00:07:57,450 --> 00:08:01,150
presentations for a lot of tourists coming
in from Ohio.

124
00:08:01,150 --> 00:08:05,170
They're like, well, I don't really have to
think about the ocean as much because I'm

125
00:08:05,170 --> 00:08:06,210
in a landlocked state.

126
00:08:06,210 --> 00:08:07,930
I'm not really connected to the oceans.

127
00:08:07,930 --> 00:08:09,690
Like, well, you are.

128
00:08:09,690 --> 00:08:13,410
So everything that goes into your
waterways is going to make its way into

129
00:08:13,410 --> 00:08:15,510
the ocean at some point or another.

130
00:08:15,510 --> 00:08:18,030
There's no disconnect between the two.

131
00:08:18,054 --> 00:08:22,214
You may not be eating seafood all the
time, but I guarantee in one way or

132
00:08:22,214 --> 00:08:25,154
another you are affected by what's going
on in the oceans.

133
00:08:25,582 --> 00:08:29,922
Yeah, and so I guess now that we
understand how little of our plastics are

134
00:08:29,922 --> 00:08:37,282
actually making it to the recycling system
and becoming something new and why there's

135
00:08:37,282 --> 00:08:41,742
such a large amount that's left over and
making its way into all these other

136
00:08:41,742 --> 00:08:46,602
different channels, whether it be the
landfill or incinerators or ending up in

137
00:08:46,602 --> 00:08:49,122
our rivers and oceans eventually.

138
00:08:49,122 --> 00:08:55,886
How does that problem affect the ocean and
marine life and

139
00:08:55,886 --> 00:08:58,264
Why does that matter for humans?

140
00:08:58,662 --> 00:09:04,022
Yeah, so the scariest images we see when
it comes to plastic in the ocean is the

141
00:09:04,022 --> 00:09:09,202
turtle with a straw shoved in its nose or
a seahorse carrying a q -tip, plastic q

142
00:09:09,202 --> 00:09:13,522
-tip, and while those are terrible images,
the larger threat is actually what happens

143
00:09:13,522 --> 00:09:16,222
to plastic after it's broken down.

144
00:09:16,222 --> 00:09:19,522
And when it's in the ocean, it tends to
break down faster due to its exposure to

145
00:09:19,522 --> 00:09:24,382
UV light from the sun and then just the
natural weathering that occurs within the

146
00:09:24,382 --> 00:11:08,722
ocean.

147
00:11:08,722 --> 00:11:13,422
because plastic doesn't truly break down
into its base compounds, unlike like a

148
00:11:13,422 --> 00:11:17,072
stick does, a stick or piece of wood is
gonna break down into its base compounds,

149
00:11:17,072 --> 00:11:18,942
its base elements over time.

150
00:11:18,942 --> 00:11:22,922
Plastic on the other hand, just becomes a
smaller and smaller particle that

151
00:11:22,922 --> 00:11:28,082
unfortunately the smaller and smaller
particles are picked up by biological life

152
00:11:28,082 --> 00:11:32,348
such as fish or going down even further to
like microscopic.

153
00:11:32,454 --> 00:11:33,074
life.

154
00:11:33,074 --> 00:11:38,334
So a microscopic life is consuming said
plastic, it's working its way up the food

155
00:11:38,334 --> 00:11:50,594
chain, And that eventually is leading it,
those plastic particles even enter human

156
00:11:50,594 --> 00:11:51,334
bodies.

157
00:11:51,334 --> 00:11:55,814
So 3 .5 billion people rely heavily on
fish as a main source of their diet.

158
00:11:55,814 --> 00:11:57,488
And that is ocean fish.

159
00:11:57,678 --> 00:11:58,246
Mm -hmm.

160
00:11:58,246 --> 00:12:02,786
they are consuming vast amounts more of
microplastics in their diet because of

161
00:12:02,786 --> 00:12:03,946
that.

162
00:12:03,946 --> 00:12:07,946
Microplastics and their additive chemicals
are associated with a whole host of

163
00:12:07,946 --> 00:12:12,946
issues, including cancers, neurological
disorders, and the big one is endocrine

164
00:12:12,946 --> 00:12:14,886
disruption causing all of this.

165
00:12:14,886 --> 00:12:19,046
Endocrine disruption is just a disruption
of the hormones in your body.

166
00:12:19,286 --> 00:12:23,486
Hormones aren't commonly thought of as
something that's prevalent outside of

167
00:12:23,486 --> 00:12:26,246
puberty when we talk about it, at least in
the US, but...

168
00:12:26,246 --> 00:12:27,786
hormones control everything.

169
00:12:27,786 --> 00:12:30,866
They control your growth, they control
your eating habits, they control your

170
00:12:30,866 --> 00:12:32,916
sleep, they're a part of everything.

171
00:12:32,916 --> 00:12:37,466
So once those microplastics start and the
added chemicals start disrupting those

172
00:12:37,466 --> 00:12:43,066
processes, it leads to all of these
disorders and diseases.

173
00:12:43,066 --> 00:12:48,246
and that's starting to be proved by
scientific studies and research.

174
00:12:48,246 --> 00:12:53,426
And also we know that it's in the fish
that we're eating because these are newer

175
00:12:53,426 --> 00:12:57,222
types of studies that are being done,
right?

176
00:12:58,726 --> 00:13:00,636
Yeah, so more and more studies are coming
out.

177
00:13:00,636 --> 00:13:05,226
It seems like a weekly basis talking about
how terrible plastic is and how dangerous

178
00:13:05,226 --> 00:13:05,896
plastic is.

179
00:13:05,896 --> 00:13:07,396
It's just not something we really thought
of.

180
00:13:07,396 --> 00:13:10,726
We thought the companies were kind of
doing their due diligence when they're

181
00:13:10,726 --> 00:13:14,226
coming up with this material to be like,
it's all over your food.

182
00:13:14,226 --> 00:13:15,216
We wrap everything in it.

183
00:13:15,216 --> 00:13:16,346
It's perfectly safe.

184
00:13:16,346 --> 00:13:18,966
But in reality, that's not the truth.

185
00:13:19,066 --> 00:13:22,126
And now more scientists are getting
funding to actually look into it.

186
00:13:22,126 --> 00:13:26,266
And they're starting to realize, crap,
like we've been allowing these 16 ,000

187
00:13:26,266 --> 00:13:28,752
different chemicals to go into plastic.

188
00:13:29,016 --> 00:13:31,076
We have no idea how bad they are for us.

189
00:13:31,076 --> 00:13:35,476
We've analyzed some of them and all the
ones we've analyzed have been toxic to

190
00:13:35,476 --> 00:13:37,198
humans.

191
00:13:37,198 --> 00:13:37,678
Yeah.

192
00:13:37,678 --> 00:13:46,518
And so can you give us a brief overview of
why and how that got passed the FDA when

193
00:13:46,518 --> 00:13:52,938
it's packaging almost a hundred percent of
our food today.

194
00:13:52,938 --> 00:14:11,910
And if not the FDA, who else would be in
charge of regulating that?

195
00:14:11,910 --> 00:14:16,730
Yeah, it just comes down to also
recognizing that plastic is made up of

196
00:14:16,730 --> 00:14:17,470
fossil fuels.

197
00:14:17,470 --> 00:14:21,190
So plastic starts as petroleum or starts
as the same thing that's going into your

198
00:14:21,190 --> 00:14:22,690
car to fuel your car.

199
00:14:22,690 --> 00:14:25,950
If you drive a gas car at this point.

200
00:14:25,950 --> 00:14:27,930
And a lot of people don't realize that
connect.

201
00:14:27,930 --> 00:14:35,010
These companies have so much money and
they're able to influence the politics in

202
00:14:35,010 --> 00:14:36,810
almost every nation they're in.

203
00:14:36,810 --> 00:14:39,600
And they're able to just kind of make
companies look the other way.

204
00:14:39,600 --> 00:14:41,566
It also comes down to

205
00:14:41,670 --> 00:14:44,880
these chemicals just weren't really
thought to be bad.

206
00:14:44,880 --> 00:14:50,090
So we didn't put in the regulatory
legislature, the regulatory admin ship to

207
00:14:50,090 --> 00:14:51,770
monitor them.

208
00:14:51,790 --> 00:14:57,390
We now in the United States are monitoring
and trying to get rid of six of 16 ,000

209
00:14:57,390 --> 00:14:58,830
different forever chemicals.

210
00:14:58,830 --> 00:15:02,230
These are the chemicals that are going
into plastic to give it it's certain

211
00:15:02,230 --> 00:15:07,390
characteristics, but there's very little
teeth to these things.

212
00:15:07,390 --> 00:15:10,398
And it just comes down to a matter of.

213
00:15:10,502 --> 00:15:14,062
While the government may want to do
something, it has to go through, these

214
00:15:14,062 --> 00:15:18,342
chemicals have to go through a certain
process for it to could take 10 years to

215
00:15:18,342 --> 00:15:20,622
declare this chemical harmful to you.

216
00:15:20,622 --> 00:15:24,202
That number might be wrong, it might take
less than 10 years, but it's still a

217
00:15:24,202 --> 00:15:27,022
matter of like, they're looking at it,
they realize it's bad.

218
00:15:27,022 --> 00:15:29,762
It takes a while to get these regulations
set up.

219
00:15:29,762 --> 00:15:31,502
There's a phase out period.

220
00:15:31,502 --> 00:15:35,282
And by the time this is all going on,
these companies can produce another

221
00:15:35,282 --> 00:15:40,198
chemical that's nearly identical to the
one that's being banned and inspected.

222
00:15:40,198 --> 00:15:46,458
and just tweak a molecule, same traits,
same characteristics, completely new name,

223
00:15:46,458 --> 00:15:49,128
completely new regulatory structure that
it has to go through.

224
00:15:49,128 --> 00:15:52,938
And it's really hard to just stay on top
of these companies and to make sure that

225
00:15:52,938 --> 00:15:55,070
we're monitoring everything properly.

226
00:15:55,342 --> 00:15:55,782
Right.

227
00:15:55,782 --> 00:16:01,362
It's kind of like how I think they started
to realize BPA was not great for people

228
00:16:01,362 --> 00:16:06,206
and then they started replacing it

229
00:16:06,206 --> 00:16:12,696
it was BPA, BPA became BSA for a while.

230
00:16:12,696 --> 00:16:16,166
And then people were like, that's the same
thing.

231
00:16:16,166 --> 00:16:19,906
Like that's exactly the same thing, but
you just changed the name.

232
00:16:19,906 --> 00:16:21,926
They're like, you're totally right.

233
00:16:21,926 --> 00:16:23,286
And they just changed the name again.

234
00:16:23,286 --> 00:16:24,846
So it's like, great.

235
00:16:24,846 --> 00:16:25,226
We did it.

236
00:16:25,226 --> 00:16:29,446
We moved away from BPA after we found that
it was causing increased cancer rates in

237
00:16:29,446 --> 00:16:30,226
babies.

238
00:16:30,226 --> 00:16:34,706
Let's just move on to these new chemicals
that aren't actually different.

239
00:16:34,706 --> 00:16:35,010
So.

240
00:16:35,010 --> 00:16:35,520
right.

241
00:16:35,520 --> 00:16:43,890
So when you see this label that says BPA
free, now I question everything, but prior

242
00:16:43,890 --> 00:16:49,250
to questioning everything, I went through
the phase of it's better BPA free.

243
00:16:49,550 --> 00:16:51,650
And you know, now I question everything.

244
00:16:51,650 --> 00:16:53,470
I'm like, but what's the new thing?

245
00:16:53,470 --> 00:16:55,400
And have they tested that?

246
00:16:55,400 --> 00:16:56,950
And is that safe?

247
00:16:57,158 --> 00:17:01,358
That's unfortunately what happens when you
dive into the rabbit hole of plastic.

248
00:17:01,438 --> 00:17:03,508
And my wife has noticed it with me.

249
00:17:03,508 --> 00:17:06,598
If like every time we go out and like, no,
we don't refuse that bag.

250
00:17:06,598 --> 00:17:10,118
I don't know what's in it or like our
cabinets are becoming filled with more and

251
00:17:10,118 --> 00:17:13,758
more of old plastic reusable bottles that
we don't know what to do with.

252
00:17:13,758 --> 00:17:18,578
As we try to transition into stainless
steel bottles or glass bottles.

253
00:17:18,598 --> 00:17:20,328
I had my dad even call me out.

254
00:17:20,328 --> 00:17:24,388
He's like, I saw you do an interview but
you had a plastic reusable water bottle.

255
00:17:24,388 --> 00:17:25,342
I was like.

256
00:17:25,862 --> 00:17:28,482
trying, it's just really difficult.

257
00:17:28,482 --> 00:17:31,602
We have so many, I don't know what to do
with them.

258
00:17:31,602 --> 00:17:34,670
So that's the dilemma when you learn more
about plastic then.

259
00:17:34,670 --> 00:17:38,170
Yeah, because then you're like, I don't
want to use it anymore.

260
00:17:38,170 --> 00:17:42,830
But the whole point is to avoid plastic
and because it's not recyclable, what am I

261
00:17:42,830 --> 00:17:43,990
going to do with it?

262
00:17:43,990 --> 00:17:46,650
Yeah, it's a vicious cycle.

263
00:17:46,650 --> 00:17:47,470
So, okay.

264
00:17:47,470 --> 00:17:53,550
So plastic is making its way in large
amounts into the ocean, the world's

265
00:17:53,550 --> 00:17:54,000
oceans.

266
00:17:54,000 --> 00:17:59,750
And it is becoming a problem because it
breaks down quickly and it's a problem

267
00:17:59,750 --> 00:18:01,150
because fish are eating it.

268
00:18:01,150 --> 00:18:04,846
And we're then eating those fish and

269
00:18:04,846 --> 00:18:38,394
Just one more topic in the ocean that I
think is important

270
00:18:38,394 --> 00:18:44,974
I'd like to talk just for a moment briefly
about the added strain that plastics are

271
00:18:44,974 --> 00:18:50,054
putting on our coral reefs because they're
already under a lot of pressure from human

272
00:18:50,054 --> 00:18:50,954
impact.

273
00:18:50,954 --> 00:18:55,974
And now we are adding this to the list.

274
00:18:55,974 --> 00:18:56,414
Yeah.

275
00:18:56,414 --> 00:19:01,934
So coral reefs act as kind of biodiversity
hubs almost, or biodiversity hotspots in a

276
00:19:01,934 --> 00:19:03,514
lot of areas for fish.

277
00:19:03,514 --> 00:19:05,844
That means that there's a lot of endemic
species.

278
00:19:05,844 --> 00:19:10,454
So local native species are able to
populate and they live in these places.

279
00:19:10,454 --> 00:19:12,994
In the ocean, those are going to be our
largest coral reefs.

280
00:19:12,994 --> 00:19:17,914
It's like in the Indo -Pacific, they do
the Great Barrier Reef, those areas.

281
00:19:17,914 --> 00:19:18,874
but coral is everywhere.

282
00:19:18,874 --> 00:19:23,234
It adds us a natural habitat for fish and
marine life.

283
00:19:23,454 --> 00:19:24,222
And.

284
00:19:24,518 --> 00:19:28,678
Plastic has this way of when it breaks
down in those microplastics kind of

285
00:19:28,678 --> 00:19:29,758
coating everything.

286
00:19:29,758 --> 00:19:35,898
So while the images of the great Pacific
Garbage Patch are terrible and they're

287
00:19:35,898 --> 00:19:39,608
unsightly to see, the bigger danger is
what we're not seeing.

288
00:19:39,608 --> 00:19:44,438
So it's those microplastics that are able
to float from the top level all the way

289
00:19:44,438 --> 00:19:44,758
down.

290
00:19:44,758 --> 00:19:49,298
So they're at every level and they're just
putting a film across our ocean floors and

291
00:19:49,298 --> 00:19:52,218
with that a film onto our coral reefs.

292
00:19:52,378 --> 00:19:53,738
This entangles them.

293
00:19:53,738 --> 00:19:54,150
It...

294
00:19:54,150 --> 00:19:56,790
you know, prevents them from growing.

295
00:19:56,790 --> 00:20:00,510
It's going to increase dramatically by 40
% of all that could be exposed or

296
00:20:00,510 --> 00:20:03,969
entangled by 2025 in plastic.

297
00:20:03,969 --> 00:20:08,970
And there's over 7 ,000 species that rely
super heavily on the coral reef

298
00:20:08,970 --> 00:20:10,070
ecosystems.

299
00:20:10,370 --> 00:20:13,490
And when they're entangled in this,
they're not able to complete their normal

300
00:20:13,490 --> 00:20:14,770
processes.

301
00:20:14,790 --> 00:20:17,130
So they're dying off.

302
00:20:17,130 --> 00:20:20,070
When they're dying off, they're not
providing food to the other marine life.

303
00:20:20,070 --> 00:20:23,718
So it's just causing this domino effect on
marine.

304
00:20:23,718 --> 00:20:25,338
marine ecosystems.

305
00:20:27,486 --> 00:20:30,946
that's a lot to think about.

306
00:20:30,946 --> 00:20:33,486
There's so many layers to it.

307
00:20:33,486 --> 00:20:45,726
And it seems like the solution would be to
no longer have plastic, because really,

308
00:20:45,726 --> 00:20:46,866
that's the problem.

309
00:20:46,866 --> 00:20:53,346
And until we end, the production of
plastic, which I know that's part of what

310
00:20:53,346 --> 00:20:55,314
your job is.

311
00:20:55,314 --> 00:20:59,434
to try to push for those things on a
federal government level.

312
00:20:59,434 --> 00:21:07,094
Can we talk a little bit about solutions
that individuals can, what can we do on

313
00:21:07,094 --> 00:21:09,600
our end in our local government?

314
00:21:10,150 --> 00:21:14,670
Yeah, so in terms of the local government,
it's reaching out to your local government

315
00:21:14,670 --> 00:21:19,230
members and making sure they are aware of
the dangers of plastic and also start

316
00:21:19,230 --> 00:21:23,230
talking to them a little bit about the
cost of managing plastic.

317
00:21:23,230 --> 00:21:26,610
So kind of look into like how much cost to
manage it via waste.

318
00:21:26,610 --> 00:21:28,415
How much does it cost on our health care
systems?

319
00:21:28,415 --> 00:21:34,150
In the US, the plastics industry and the
plastic chemical additives add another

320
00:21:34,150 --> 00:21:38,406
additional 250 billion dollar burden due
to the health.

321
00:21:38,406 --> 00:21:42,286
offence that are associated with plastics
and additives chemicals and that's every

322
00:21:42,286 --> 00:21:44,126
year just in the United States.

323
00:21:44,126 --> 00:21:49,126
So it's a trillion dollar expense being
paid for by taxpayers the world over, but

324
00:21:49,126 --> 00:21:51,766
in the United States alone, $250 billion.

325
00:21:51,766 --> 00:21:55,366
If you start mentioning numbers like that
to your local governments, they're like,

326
00:21:55,366 --> 00:21:59,166
crap, maybe we should start looking for
alternatives to start moving away.

327
00:21:59,166 --> 00:22:01,766
Talk to them about bag bans.

328
00:22:01,766 --> 00:22:04,426
Talk to them about straw bans.

329
00:22:04,626 --> 00:22:07,302
I know nobody likes to use the paper
straws.

330
00:22:07,302 --> 00:22:09,552
Opt away from the straw altogether.

331
00:22:09,552 --> 00:22:11,442
You don't need it most of the time.

332
00:22:11,442 --> 00:22:13,592
If you do need it, bring a reusable straw.

333
00:22:13,592 --> 00:22:16,302
Bring a stainless steel straw that you can
clean.

334
00:22:17,002 --> 00:22:21,082
Other things you can do is refuse to -go
containers when you're going out.

335
00:22:21,082 --> 00:22:26,582
Bring your own Tupperware or refuse those
to -go utensils that are just thrown into

336
00:22:26,582 --> 00:22:27,548
bags.

337
00:22:27,822 --> 00:22:28,412
Definitely.

338
00:22:28,412 --> 00:22:33,742
There's a lot of little things that people
can do now that they're aware of the

339
00:22:33,742 --> 00:22:34,682
problems.

340
00:22:34,682 --> 00:22:37,042
And these are very simple things.

341
00:22:37,042 --> 00:22:38,072
And it takes a while.

342
00:22:38,072 --> 00:22:39,682
It takes some practice.

343
00:22:39,882 --> 00:22:41,062
Nobody's perfect.

344
00:22:41,062 --> 00:22:44,152
And you might forget and get those plastic
utensils in your bag.

345
00:22:44,152 --> 00:22:50,122
But don't give up, because next time,
you'll remember, I promise.

346
00:22:50,122 --> 00:22:52,162
And it's just practice doesn't make
perfect.

347
00:22:52,162 --> 00:22:54,242
Practice makes better.

348
00:22:54,242 --> 00:22:56,974
And better is, you know,

349
00:22:56,974 --> 00:22:58,814
better than nothing.

350
00:22:59,154 --> 00:23:09,234
And so I would also like to reiterate the
fact that anything that you can do in your

351
00:23:09,234 --> 00:23:13,964
own home, in your own household does
actually matter and make an impact,

352
00:23:13,964 --> 00:23:18,674
whether it's switching to a stainless
steel water bottle, or if you get coffee a

353
00:23:18,674 --> 00:23:24,622
lot, like there's a lot of also people
think that their coffee is in, you know, a

354
00:23:24,622 --> 00:23:30,662
paper cup and it is technically, but
there's like a thin coating on that paper

355
00:23:30,662 --> 00:23:35,422
so that if your coffee's in there a long
time, it's not gonna seep through and make

356
00:23:35,422 --> 00:23:36,382
your cup wet.

357
00:23:36,382 --> 00:23:38,946
So that's actually plastic, right?

358
00:23:39,046 --> 00:23:43,266
Yeah, there's a thin layer of plastic on
most to go cups.

359
00:23:43,586 --> 00:23:49,206
So that's and you know, even aluminum cans
of a thin liner of plastic within them.

360
00:23:49,206 --> 00:23:52,746
Plastic bottles for the most part, as far
as I'm aware, do not have this plastic

361
00:23:52,746 --> 00:23:53,416
liner in them.

362
00:23:53,416 --> 00:23:55,206
But if you take.

363
00:23:55,726 --> 00:24:00,806
Sorry, if you take like a plastic or a
aluminum can and you put it, I think it's

364
00:24:00,806 --> 00:24:01,506
to be used.

365
00:24:01,506 --> 00:24:02,546
Don't do this at home.

366
00:24:02,546 --> 00:24:03,126
Don't.

367
00:24:03,126 --> 00:24:06,574
But if you put it into a solvent, I won't
name the solvent.

368
00:24:06,574 --> 00:24:07,110
Okay.

369
00:24:07,110 --> 00:24:12,090
It will erode the metal on your left with
just the plastic liner and you can see the

370
00:24:12,090 --> 00:24:13,746
soda within the can.

371
00:24:14,702 --> 00:24:21,062
So does that make it so that aluminum cans
are really not recyclable then?

372
00:24:21,542 --> 00:24:25,222
Well, we're pretty good at recycling
aluminum and aluminum cans.

373
00:24:25,282 --> 00:24:30,182
But the process includes a little bit of
incineration and a little bit of heating

374
00:24:30,182 --> 00:24:32,222
it up to get rid of that plastic.

375
00:24:32,462 --> 00:24:37,982
So while we are breaking it down, we are
getting rid of it or reusing it, we're

376
00:24:37,982 --> 00:24:42,912
also dumping emissions from the actual
getting rid of that plastic liner.

377
00:24:43,150 --> 00:24:49,290
Okay, so it is even in our aluminum cans,
but not in glass bottles.

378
00:24:49,570 --> 00:24:51,038
Okay.

379
00:24:51,038 --> 00:24:59,018
lid of the bottles probably a little thin
piece of plastic at the top there.

380
00:24:59,018 --> 00:25:03,678
so glass is kind of our go -to when it
comes to like best practice for avoiding

381
00:25:03,678 --> 00:25:05,102
plastic at least.

382
00:25:05,102 --> 00:25:12,842
Okay, so bring your own coffee mug and
whatever else you might put into a takeout

383
00:25:12,842 --> 00:25:17,582
cup can go in there too, because it keeps
it hot, keeps it cold, right?

384
00:25:17,582 --> 00:25:18,582
Okay.

385
00:25:18,582 --> 00:25:24,422
And also at home, there's a lot of
different things that come into the home

386
00:25:24,422 --> 00:25:27,472
that are made of or packaged in plastic.

387
00:25:27,472 --> 00:25:33,362
And that's where my guide comes in,
livelightly .eco, under the free guide

388
00:25:33,362 --> 00:25:34,126
tab.

389
00:25:34,126 --> 00:25:39,906
This is a website where all of my podcast
episodes are housed, as well as my free

390
00:25:39,906 --> 00:25:43,326
guide that you can easily download and
start using.

391
00:25:43,326 --> 00:25:47,646
There's a chapter for every thing that you
would normally be buying for your

392
00:25:47,646 --> 00:25:53,226
household, including children's toys,
clothes, furniture, pet stuff.

393
00:25:53,266 --> 00:25:56,626
So it's a really great resource that you
can just pull out anytime you're buying

394
00:25:56,626 --> 00:26:02,798
something you would normally be buying and
easily find something that will.

395
00:26:02,798 --> 00:26:06,078
reduce your unintentional plastic use.

396
00:26:06,078 --> 00:26:12,898
I want to say this, it's not anybody's
fault because there was no warning label

397
00:26:12,898 --> 00:26:24,758
on the straw that our grandparents were
handed at the fast food takeout counter 50

398
00:26:24,758 --> 00:26:27,978
or 60 years ago.

399
00:26:27,978 --> 00:26:31,406
And there still isn't today, clearly, any.

400
00:26:31,406 --> 00:26:39,566
warning labels on plastic telling us the
possible health risks or environmental

401
00:26:39,566 --> 00:26:41,966
impact either.

402
00:26:42,106 --> 00:26:45,896
So don't feel like it's your fault.

403
00:26:45,896 --> 00:26:51,266
We've all been unintentionally
participating in something that has been

404
00:26:51,266 --> 00:26:53,190
very well hid from us.

405
00:26:53,798 --> 00:27:00,358
So yeah, it's real sneaky with plastics
for the past 60 years or so.

406
00:27:00,358 --> 00:27:04,348
But I feel like people are starting to
wake up to the idea that it's not a great,

407
00:27:04,348 --> 00:27:08,558
well, it's a great material in some ways,
but it's a terrible material in many

408
00:27:08,558 --> 00:27:09,158
other.

409
00:27:09,158 --> 00:27:13,098
So while maybe utilizing a bunch of
different ways, we had to figure out

410
00:27:13,098 --> 00:27:14,678
better systems for it.

411
00:27:14,678 --> 00:27:18,478
Or started thinking about going back to
older technologies when it comes to

412
00:27:18,478 --> 00:27:22,898
especially our food and how much we're
exposing ourselves to the plastic.

413
00:27:22,958 --> 00:27:28,198
Yeah, because that's something that if you
multiply it on a daily basis by three

414
00:27:28,198 --> 00:27:33,638
meals a day and however many people are
eating food that's wrapped in plastic,

415
00:27:33,638 --> 00:27:49,422
that's a huge place where we can push for
reform and for change

416
00:27:49,422 --> 00:27:54,542
One of the things you might be able to do
is email the people that you're buying

417
00:27:54,542 --> 00:28:01,962
products from and ask them if they can
repackage their food or their product in

418
00:28:01,962 --> 00:28:04,782
something that's not plastic.

419
00:28:04,782 --> 00:28:11,174
I just think, any little thing that you're
motivated to do, go for it.

420
00:28:11,174 --> 00:28:12,694
Yeah, I agree 100%.

421
00:28:12,694 --> 00:28:14,852
Every little step counts.

422
00:28:15,246 --> 00:28:15,966
Yep.

423
00:28:15,966 --> 00:28:16,406
All right.

424
00:28:16,406 --> 00:28:21,086
Well, thank you for joining me today,
Aidan, and let us know how we can support

425
00:28:21,086 --> 00:28:24,416
you and the work that you do with Earth
Day Organization.

426
00:28:24,518 --> 00:28:28,118
Yeah, if you just go to Earthday .org,
just scroll through all the different

427
00:28:28,118 --> 00:28:29,148
resources we have.

428
00:28:29,148 --> 00:28:33,078
We have stuff on fast fashion, getting
together as a college student, getting

429
00:28:33,078 --> 00:28:37,338
together as an elementary school student
even, asking your teachers to do a little

430
00:28:37,338 --> 00:28:41,238
bit more in the classroom, or just helping
your teachers start implementing more

431
00:28:41,238 --> 00:28:44,578
environmental policies with their climate
education program.

432
00:28:44,578 --> 00:29:20,082
We just have something for everybody.

433
00:29:20,082 --> 00:29:24,412
so there are a lot of wonderful resources
on that website as well.

434
00:29:24,412 --> 00:29:29,382
So just dig in and anything that inspires
you.

435
00:29:29,382 --> 00:29:36,306
I highly encourage people to start taking
action.

436
00:29:36,354 --> 00:30:19,238
you, Aiden.

437
00:30:19,238 --> 00:30:20,554
Yeah, thank you so much for having me.