The documentary film «Plastic Everywhere! Stories of Waste»—available in its entirety on replay; originally aired on Tuesday, April 3, 2018, at 8:50 p.m. on ARTE. Filmed across three continents, this in-depth investigation explores a looming disaster.
Plastic waste is piling up in the natural environment and in landfills. What risks does it pose to the environment and to health, particularly for the poorest populations? As symbols of our throwaway society, plastics have become an indispensable part of our daily lives. Durable, lightweight, and inexpensive to produce, they are nonetheless a nightmare to collect and recycle after use. Between the environmental dangers posed by littering and the health risks—linked to rudimentary recycling practices—faced by the poorest populations, mainly in China, this in-depth investigation, conducted across three continents, paints a deeply alarming picture. Faced with powerful industrial lobbies and the looming disaster, will policymakers be able to make the necessary decisions while there is still time?
On his surfboard made from old plastic bottles, Merijn Tinga embarked on an astonishing journey. To raise public awareness about plastic pollution, the Dutch activist traveled 1,200 kilometers along the Rhine, from its source to Rotterdam. An advocate for a deposit-return system that would enable the collection and recycling of used bottles—particularly those made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET)—this environmentalist is not alone in taking a stand. While his compatriot Dick Groot scours the countryside to geotag the countless pieces of trash he finds there with his phone, in Haiti, The Plastic Bank, a social and solidarity-based startup founded by Canadians David Katz and Shaun Frankson, buys back plastic waste collected by local residents.
As these particles accumulate virtually everywhere, scientists are also hard at work. In their laboratories, they are tracking the odors emitted by toys, but they are also studying the alarming proliferation in the oceans of microparticles left behind by degraded plastics, as well as their impact on marine life and on our plates…
