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Plastic bags are made from polyethylene: a thermoplastic made from crude oil.
American Chemical Society, 2011
110 billion plastic bags are produced in Indonesia, Taiwan, and Vietnam every year.
United States International Trade Commission 2009
Up to 1 trillion plastic bags are used worldwide every year.
The New York Times, 2007
That’s 2 million plastic bags every minute.
It takes up to 1,000 years for plastic bags to break into smaller pieces. They never fully
decompose.
The Ocean Conservancy, 2013
How many plastic bags do you use a day?
How many plastic bags do you use a year?
Where do all these plastic bags go?
Bags get blown around…
…to different parts of our lands…
…into our drains, flooding our streets...
… into our oceans…
… onto our shores.
Plastic bags have been found floating far away from any city.
British Antarctic Survey ,2010
Where’s Antarctica? 10,000 kilometers from Cambodia!
Plastic kills animals.
World Wildlife Fund Report, 2013
Plastic kills more than 1 million birds a year.
World Wildlife Fund Report, 2005
Plastic can enter the food chain.
The Sierra Club, 2013
Sea animals sometimes die after trying to eat plastic bags, which they mistake for
food.
World Wildlife Fund Report, 2005
Algalita Marine Research Foundation, 2009
Seabirds also eat plastic.
Ullmann’s Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry 2007
Styrofoam (Polystyrene) is a plastic.
Battambang, 2008
Do not burn plastic. The smoke is poisonous and can cause respiratory diseases, birth defects, cancer, headaches and immune
system disorders.
World Health Organization, 2005
Battambang, 2008
Battambang, 2008
Phnom Penh, 2008
Phnom Penh, 2008
Phnom Penh, 2008
What can we do to stop using so much plastic?
1. Reduce/Avoid
Use a cloth bag or your backpack.
2. Reuse plastic bags and containers.
3. Recycle
How many times can these items be recycled?
• Aluminum can?• Tin can?• Paper?• Cardboard?• Glass bottles and jars?• Plastic bottles and bags?• Styrofoam/polystyrene?
Recycle Times:
• Aluminum can: Infinitely• Tin can: Infinitely• Paper: 5 – 7 times into new paper• Cardboard: 8 times• Glass bottles and jars: Infinitely• Plastic bottles and bags: Once• Styrofoam/polystyrene: Usually never
United States Environmental Protection Agency 2012
4. Bury
Bury your plastic trash!
China banned free plastic bags. This ban saves 37 million barrels of oil a year.
World Watch Institute, 2013
Ireland started taxing plastic bags in 2002 and has now reduced plastic bag use by 90
percent.
BBC News, 2002
Rwanda banned plastic bags in 2008 and remains plastic free.
The Atlantic Post, 2013
Bangladesh has banned plastic bags.
Aljazeera News, 2008
South Africa, Italy, Somalia, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Eritrea, Australia, Switzerland, France, Tasmania, Taiwan, Papua New
Guinea, New Zealand, Samoa, Singapore, Bhutan, Malta, Japan, Israel, Canada, western India and Mexico have also
banned plastic bags.
BBC News, 2013
Cambodia can do it too!
What can you do to use less plastic?
• Eat at restaurants/hang byes instead of getting take-away.• Use a stone or metal bowl.• Reuse and wash plastic bags and containers.• Say no to straws.• Use glasses and cups and metal water bottles instead of plastic bottles. • Don’t eat packaged food. • Tell your family and friends!
BEWARE OF PLASTIC!
• Plastic is made out of oil.
• Do not put hot liquids or food in plastic.
• Do not reuse plastic water bottles.
•
U.S. National Library of Medicine National Institute of Health, 2013
Remember
1.) Reduce
2.) Reuse
3.) Recycle
4.) Bury
•
