#EW,PLASTIC
Feel free to play this as background music as you read.
Plastic cups floating in rivers. Styrofoam boxes blowing in the wind. We all know about the plastic pollution problem. If you don't, I'm sorry your eyesight has failed you so badly.
We've come to live in a throw-away culture. I mean, why not? Plastic is convenient. We come to school. We buy baay sach chruk from the lady outside. We toss the styrofoam boxes in the trash (wrap it tightly so it doesn't stink up the room, you heathens). We forget about it because there are other issues to think about, like that tournament coming up this Friday and the pre-calc test you forgot to study for and the fact that Valentines Day is coming up but you're still incredibly single -
Meanwhile, the styrofoam sits in the trash bin, happily ignorant of the fact that it's one of the largest sources of toxic waste in the world, classified as a possible human carcinogen by the Environmental Protection Agency and by the International Agency for Research on Cancer.
And then it gets taken by your friendly neighborhood Cintri men to the dumpster, where it'll sit in the mountains of garbage.
Image taken from the Phnom Penh Post
Or it finds its way to a nearby water source and eventually, to the ocean. You know how this story ends.
Or it gets burned in one of the trash fires, releasing pollutants such as carbon black and carbon monoxide, both of which are incredibly bad for human health. Guess what? Sea turtles aren't the only ones getting choked by the plastic problem!
But wait! Those aren't the only career paths available for it. It also lives on the streets as Litter From People Who Don't Know What a Trash Bin Is.
A tuk tuk drives down a flooded street in central Phnom Penh in October 2013. Photo: Jim Heston
Oh yes. Venice whomst?
You don't need to be in AP Environmental Science to know that this issue is a Big, Bad One. We've all seen the videos of turtles choking on plastic on our Facebook timelines. We've all been horrified by the dissections of birds with their stomachs full of plastic. It's a difficult issue to tackle because it's such a global one, but that shouldn't deter you from reducing the role you play in contributing to it*.
In fact, as a community of empowered individuals who can make a difference, Logos can do a lot to reduce the amount of plastic we use. One of the ways we can do that is to use less take-out containers like baay sach chruk styrofoam boxes.
B-but how?
One of the solutions is to replace them with more durable containers. They'd still be made out of plastic, of course, but by using reusable plastic containers, we'd be using less plastic as a whole. This is where the Logos community comes in.
The Logos Student Council and the Environmental Club are working together to organize a plastic container drive. Most of us have plastic containers that take up way too much space in our cupboards. Old ice cream tubs, clear plastic boxes - maybe from actual takeout if you're environmentally conscious - we're looking for any that you can spare.
There will be boxes in your Logos Cup homeroom, and for every container you bring, your house gets one (1) point. These boxes will then be given to the lady who sells baay sach chruk, and she'll be putting our breakfasts in those instead. Once you're done eating, just bring them to Ms. C's room (306). If you're a responsible student, you can even wash the box!
The washed (and now clean) boxes will then be returned to the lady outside. We'll have a cycle thing going on. Think of how much plastic we'd save. Think of all the grateful turtles.
So bring your plastic containers! If you have any questions, feel free to ask Ms. C, the Environmental Club, or your StuCo reps!
*Flash forward 20 years in the future. You have a kid. They look at the sea of plastic floating on the streets after it rains. "Why?" Their eyes ask. "Well champ," you say, clamping one hand on their shoulder. "Back when I was your age, the plastic problem was one of the biggest issues in the world. Sea animals were dying, there were pollutants in the air, and that's why we can't go fishing anymore. Everyone saw it coming and I can proudly say that I did nothing." If this scenario doesn't make you at least a little squirmy inside, Mr. Barrett's office is on the top floor.
Sources:
I said what I said.
Just kidding:
"THE FACTS ON STYROFOAM: REDUCE AND REUSE." Collier County, 2019 Collier County, FL., www.colliercountyfl.gov/your-government/divisions-s-z/solid-hazardous-waste-management/keeping-green-helpful-information-page/the-facts-on-styrofoam-reduce-and-reuse.
Meyn, Colin, and Mech Dara. "Phnom Penh, 'a City of Garbage.'" Southeast Asia Globe Magazine, GLOBE MEDIA ASIA, 26 Jan. 2018, sea-globe.com/cintri-phnom-penh/.