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Is your life too plastic?
Date: 3-May-2012
The Hunter-Central Rivers Catchment Management Authority (CMA) has joined forces with Tim Silverwood, environmentalist and co-founder of non-profit organisation Take 3, to host a screening of the award-winning environmental documentary Bag It at Taree High School hall on the evening of May 24.
The movie Bag It follows ‘everyman’ Jeb Berrier as he tries to make sense of our dependence on plastic bags.
Jeb soon learns that the problem extends past landfills to oceans, rivers and ultimately human health. The film explores these issues and identifies how our daily reliance on plastic threatens not only waterways and marine life but human health too.
Tim co-founded Take 3 in 2009 with fellow Central Coast surfer Mandy Marechal and Marine Ecologist Roberta Dixon-Valk. At its heart the organisation’s message is taking three pieces of rubbish with you each time you visit the beach.
In August 2011 Tim returned from a research expedition to the North Pacific Gyre (or the Great Pacific Garbage Patch) with alarming insights into the frightening state of the world’s oceans and will talk about his expedition at the screening of Bag It.
‘There is this notion that when we throw away the growing amount of silly single-use plastic items we use in our lives that they just go away. Unfortunately, away isn’t always landfill or a recycling centre, a huge amount of our waste ends up in our environment and a growing amount ends up in the ocean.’
‘No one really knows how best to tackle the issue’, says Tim. ‘It’s not feasible to get out there with a big net and scoop it up, nor is it worth considering banning plastic. The best outcome we can aim for now is to raise awareness, put some ownership back on to corporations and governments to start implementing small changes.’
Jeb soon learns that the problem extends past landfills to oceans, rivers and ultimately human health. The film explores these issues and identifies how our daily reliance on plastic threatens not only waterways and marine life but human health too.
Tim co-founded Take 3 in 2009 with fellow Central Coast surfer Mandy Marechal and Marine Ecologist Roberta Dixon-Valk. At its heart the organisation’s message is taking three pieces of rubbish with you each time you visit the beach.
In August 2011 Tim returned from a research expedition to the North Pacific Gyre (or the Great Pacific Garbage Patch) with alarming insights into the frightening state of the world’s oceans and will talk about his expedition at the screening of Bag It.
‘There is this notion that when we throw away the growing amount of silly single-use plastic items we use in our lives that they just go away. Unfortunately, away isn’t always landfill or a recycling centre, a huge amount of our waste ends up in our environment and a growing amount ends up in the ocean.’
‘No one really knows how best to tackle the issue’, says Tim. ‘It’s not feasible to get out there with a big net and scoop it up, nor is it worth considering banning plastic. The best outcome we can aim for now is to raise awareness, put some ownership back on to corporations and governments to start implementing small changes.’
The CMA has funded this free event as part of its marine education program. Light refreshments will be served and doors open at 6.30 pm.
For more information contact the CMA’s Lower North Coast Education Project Officer, Derek Monks, on 6551 8994 or by email derek.monks@cma.nsw.gov.au.
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