Bay Area Sierra Club Meeting: How Will the World Deal with Plastics?
Wednesday, March 15, 7:00 pm
The March meeting will be conducted via Zoom.
(no in-person meeting)
Starts 6:30 pm for social time; 7:00 pm for program.
Here is the link for the meeting on Zoom:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4168201898?pwd=MzBpZ2hvUVFMckw4anlldTh6Tkh3dz09
March 15 Program:
How Will the World Deal with Plastics?
On March 15 Frank Blake will discuss how the world is attempting to address the proliferation of plastics production and the resulting problems of plastic pollution, effective plastics recycling, and microplastics. Since the Second World War, the global human population and plastics production have increased exponentially. Currently most plastic is not effectively recycled, and plastic pollution and microplastics have spread to every corner of the planet. Most nations have acknowledged these problems, and governments, researchers, business communities, and environmental advocates are exploring a range of potential strategies to address the situation. In 2022, the United Nations Environmental Assembly (UNEA) initiated the process to develop a landmark and legally binding treaty to control plastic pollution worldwide. But addressing the extent of plastic pollution issues will likely require a range of approaches.
Frank Blake is an avid recycler and has monitored recycling issues for the Houston Sierra Club for a couple of decades.
Below is a list of related articles and resources:
Why we need to fix the plastic pollution problem (unep.org)
Microplastics | OR&R's Marine Debris Program (noaa.gov)
Why 99% of ocean plastic pollution is "missing" - YouTube
Microplastics Are Filling the Skies. Will They Affect the Climate? - Yale E360
California passes first sweeping US law to reduce single-use plastic | US news | The Guardian
Chemical recycling and its environmental impacts - EHN
Anyone who may have specific questions on the topic is asked to send their questions ahead of time to bayareasierraclubhouston@gmail.com
Bay Area meetings are on 3rd Wednesday of the month and start at 6:30pm for social hour; speaker and discussion from 7-8:30 pm.
Photo by iStock.com/Mukhina1 from Sierra Club Canto.