Be drastic say no to plastic

[Music]

[Applause]

are we

addicted to plastic

we probably are david suzuki

an award-winning professor emeritus and

environmentalist

once said we humans

have become dependent on plastic

for a range of uses from packaging

to products reducing our use

of plastic bags is an easy place

to start getting our addiction under

control

addiction such a strong word you’d think

but very appropriate it is the best word

that describes us humans relationship

with plastic

in the 19th century when researchers

invented plastic manufacturers

immediately embraced it all of a sudden

plastics made everything cheaper and

easier to dispose of

an invention once thought to be saving

the grace of manufacturers

has turned out to be a poison to our

environment

that continues to harm our planet’s

well-being

who would have thought the world would

witness

such a thing i became interested

in plastic pollution in grade 3 when my

class

participated in a garbage cleanup

at first all we were really doing was

just

walking on a beach but soon

we found much more than we expected

nothing to laugh about

cigarettes socks skeletons of old

plastic bottles

and bags those were among the few things

we were

able to identify on the beach

while this was my experience the closest

beach or park to you

may just have bundles of plastic

hiding there underneath the sand and

shore

if you care to take note

one cannot but wonder and ask

how did we get here

it is no surprise that plastic pollution

has become one of the world’s

most pressing environmental crises

the increasing production of plastic has

surpassed our world’s ability

to properly discard or

recycle it our water bodies

have plastics swimming in them and

millions of animals die from plastic

ingestion

each year

did you know that only around nine

percent of plastic

is recycled here in canada

that means 91 percent

ending up unrecycled ending up

in landfills or even worse

the ocean it becomes

such a large burden to our

environment it tangles around

and chokes poor little sea creatures

it dissolves into microplastics

and is consumed by these animals

then it moves up the food train

and in to our own stomachs

in fact scientists recently discovered

microplastics and bpa

a chemical used to make plastic inside

human organs what’s far

more concerning is that bpa

is shown to cause cancer and many other

health problems

how frightening

there is good news that we can solve

this problem

hawaii’s most populated island oahu

and in it includes honolulu

has banned single-use plastics starting

from

december of 2019

why don’t we follow their lead

if a small island state can ban

single-use plastic

why doesn’t the rest of the world do the

same

i used to think i was eco-friendly

enough a kid who supported the

environment

etc but little did i know

that i too used plastic

on a day-to-day basis

plastic bags for shopping plastic

bottles for drinking

those are necessities in life that i

cannot imagine living without

i thought i was the perfect

environmentalist

up until grade four which was when i

participated

in a climate protest i suddenly had a

change of mindset

i realized that being a true

environmentalist didn’t simply mean

being disapproving of plastic

it meant taking action yourself

i decided then that i would stop

using plastic bottles and bags and

convince my family members

to ban single plastic usage in my home

i started boiling my own water not only

to avoid using bottled water but also

to ensure that our tap water was not

contaminated

this is how i decided

to follow my beliefs and fight against

the plastic crisis

this is how i an average

ten-year-old can take small steps

to change the world

taking small actionable steps

isn’t hard at all

starting in our own homes we can stop

using single-use plastic that means no

plastic bottles

no plastic bags

i have become accustomed to the feeling

of life without these single-use

plastics

so that means you can too

whenever you go to restaurants ask for a

reusable cup and fork

instead of any plastic item

when you go shopping bring your own bag

and buy bulk goods instead of packaged

ones

not only do you reduce your usage of

plastic

you actually also save money

we can take small steps at home

but more importantly we must spread the

word

we must raise awareness on the impact

that plastic has on land

and marine life we must

march against the production of new

plastic

to stop using single-use plastics

and to make sure that all of our

plastics

are recycled

the benefits are not only for the

environment

they will help us too if we all reduce

our usage of plastic

we also reduce the threat of having bpa

in our body

which means we will ultimately become

healthier

i started making these small changes

in my home a little less than

two years ago i’m just one person

taking small steps to save the world

but what if we all did what if we all

stopped using plastic bottles and bags

what if we all put raised awareness

and petitioned against single-use

plastic

it is the worst of times but

it is the best of times because

we still have a chance

our world needs our help let’s do this

together

let’s all be part of the solution

not part of the pollution

thank you