Talk about plastic soup tips and info

More and more people are concerned with recycling materials, the environment or sustainability. Plastic soup is a concept that is impossible to imagine life without. And therefore a very interesting topic to do your speech! In this blog, we've collected all the information you need to complete your talk about plastic soup. At JUJA Wear there are two things that play a big role: sustainability but also awareness. We like to contribute to a better world. And that first step might just be this talk for your classmates.

Plastic soup

Let's start at the beginning: what exactly is plastic soup? Simply put, it is an accumulation of a large amount of plastic and other waste in oceans and seas. This accumulation is getting bigger and bigger, causing more and more plastic to be carried away by the currents. And that is a big problem. Oceans and seas are the habitat for millions of animal species and plants. The size of the plastic soup in the Pacific Ocean is estimated from 700,000 km2 to more than 15 million km2.

Charles Moore

The man who brought the concept of plastic soup to the world is Charles Moore. Charles is an oceanographer. That is someone who researches phenomena in the ocean. When he sailed his boat from Hawaii to Southern California in 1997 he coined the term plastic soup. This was because he kept seeing plastic floating past his boat.

Plastic materials

Plastic is made of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen. Plastic is a form of plastic. Petroleum and gel are often the raw materials for this plastic. The production of plastic releases many harmful chemicals into the air; such as CO2. This is bad for your health and causes global warming. In addition, the burning of plastic also brings harmful substances with it. A fun fact to tell your classmates: the first artificial plastic was invented in 1855. That's more than 150 years ago! It was invented by Alexander Parkes. He called this plastic parkesin. This was later called celluloid. Plastic has been used for years for packaging of products, electronics, cars, objects in homes, medicine, furniture and so on.

Lifespan of plastic

Plastic lasts an incredibly long time. For example, a plastic bag lasts twenty years, a plastic straw two hundred years and a plastic bottle, also called a PET bottle, four hundred and fifty years. At JUJA Wear, we use these PET bottles to make UV-resistant swimwear. This not only benefits child and parent, but also a better environment. A real win-win situation.

Consequences of plastic pollution

But what is actually so harmful about all that plastic on land, in the sea or ocean? We list a number of disadvantages of plastic (soup) for you: 1. Plastic waste does not decompose. As a result, the plastic remains on the streets, eventually ends up in the sea and animals can become entangled or die by eating these plastic materials. 2. A consequence of the disadvantage above, then, is that more than 100,000 marine animals die every year because of plastic soup. For example, 1 in 3 sea turtles have ingested plastic and more than half of all whales have plastic in their stomachs. 3. Burning plastic releases harmful substances. These substances are harmful to humans, animals and nature. 4. Plastic remains difficult to recycle.

The solution

Plastic soup is a huge problem worldwide. But what can you, your teacher, and your classmates do about it? It starts with keeping your own environment clean. Do you see plastic? Clean it up. Going boating this summer? In addition to your JUJA Wear UV-resistant swimming kit, bring a net. That way, you can fish all the plastic out of the water. You'll be happy, nature will be happy. You and your classmates can also buy fewer products made of plastic or products packaged in plastic. And are you also careful when you launch balloons? You never know where they end up.

Are there any questions?

Of course, your classmates can ask you a question at the end of your talk, but you can also ask them a question! Once, they can think about for weeks: What will the earth look like in fifty years if we continue like this? And what can you do now to reduce plastic soup? We wish you lots of success and fun with your presentation. With this information, you are ready to go!