ARTICLE

The Reality of Plastics

Plastic. It's super useful but it's also a big problem for the environment. Enough plastic is thrown away every year to circle the earth four times! The main issue is that plastic doesn't break down, meaning it sticks around for a very long time. This video gives a quick overview of the scope of the plastic problem and what some people are doing to try to solve it.

Grades

5 - 8

Subjects

Conservation, Engineering

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This video and the accompanying activities were produced by KQED as part of the Engineering for Good unit. This unit was designed to help teachers integrate engineering into their science classroom with a fun meaningful hands-on project. The unit provides support for teachers to guide students through the engineering design process to develop solutions to a real-world problem. Engineering for Good is focused on developing solutions for impacts of plastics on the environment, though the specific problem the students tackle is defined by them.

Credits

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Producer

Tyson Brown, National Geographic Society

special thanks

Last Updated

October 19, 2023

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