logo
episode-header-image
Aug 2021
11m 43s

TED Climate: What happens to the plastic...

TED
About this episode

Plastic is everywhere. We know we should cut down on it where we can, but is plastic ever the answer? In this episode, a whole world of plastic you never knew about. Starting with: which bag is best: paper, plastic, or cotton? The answer might surprise you. Dan breaks down the pros and cons of each bag, and which you should carry on your next shopping trip. Then we follow the journey of three different plastic bottles after you throw them away, shedding light on the dangers these disposables present to our world. Plus, three things you can do to put a cap on our plastic problem. You can read the full text transcript for this episode at go.ted.com/TC1

TED Climate is produced and edited by Sheena Ozaki and hosted by Dan Kwartler. Our mixer is Sam Bair. This episode adapted two lessons originally produced in animated form by the TED-Ed team. “Plastic vs Paper vs Cloth Bags” was written by Luka Seamus Wright & Imogen Ellen Napper with editorial support from Alex Gendler and Dan Kwartler, with fact-check by Eden Girma. “What really happens to the plastic you throw away?” was written by Emma Bryce, with editorial support from Alex Rosenthal and fact-check by Sarah Silvergleid. Special thanks to them, and to Gerta Xhelo, Stephanie Lo, Michelle Quint, Banban Cheng, and Anna Phelan.

For the full text transcript, visit ted.com/podcasts/speed-and-scale-transcript


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next
Nov 17
How a Louisiana community came together to take down a petrochemical plant
<p>In the heart of Louisiana, between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, more than 150 petrochemical plants spew huge amounts of carbon into our atmosphere—and into the communities they occupy. In this episode, Ryan and Anjali talk to a community organizer whose own sickness inspired h ... Show More
34m 25s
Nov 10
How Copenhagen’s “food schools” are promoting sustainable eating habits
Food production makes up about 12% of our global emissions—that comes not only from the kinds of food we eat (like beef, which is one of the highest-emission foods you can eat), but how we grow and make it. The city of Copenhagen set an ambitious goal to reduce emissions from all ... Show More
27m 11s
Nov 3
How you can fly more sustainably (today!)
The aviation industry is responsible for 3.5% of the world’s carbon emissions. That may seem like a small number globally, but this is a big problem in the developed world—and a stubborn one to solve. In this episode, Ryan and Anjali take a look at how Hawaii—a state whose aviati ... Show More
33m 21s
Recommended Episodes
Aug 2021
TED Climate: What happens to the plastic you throw away?
<p>Plastic is everywhere. We know we should cut down on it where we can, but is plastic ever the answer? In this episode, a whole world of plastic you never knew about. Starting with: which bag is best: paper, plastic, or cotton? The answer might surprise you. Dan breaks down the ... Show More
12m 33s
Aug 2021
What happens to the plastic you throw away? | TED Climate
<p>Plastic is everywhere. We know we should cut down on it where we can, but is plastic ever the answer? In this episode of TED Climate, a whole world of plastic you never knew about. Starting with: which bag is best -- paper, plastic or cotton? The answer might surprise you. Hos ... Show More
12m 1s
Sep 2020
What is plastic?
<p><strong>#062</strong></p> <p>Think about it for a second, plastic is everywhere. What plastic things are around you right now? What plastic things do you use everyday? This week, Melissa and Jam dive right into the proverbial (and sort of literal) ball pit. What even is plasti ... Show More
31m 52s
Nov 2018
Why We Fell In Love with Plastic
Plastic waste and pollution have become a global problem but is there any sign of a global solution? And how did we allow this to happen in the first place? Materials scientist and broadcaster, Professor Mark Miodownik, explores how we fell in love with plastic, why we've ended u ... Show More
26m 28s
Mar 2021
Plastic Pollution - with Steve Backshall and Georgia May Jagger
“If you’ve eaten seafood, you’ve eaten plastic” It’s time to talk plastics. Every piece of plastic we consume stays in the environment for up to hundreds of years. The sheer scale of plastics in the environment are dramatically impacting ocean wildlife and human health. For this ... Show More
27m 8s
Mar 2022
Plastics - A comedy science quiz
The best things about plastic, it’s durability and usefulness, are also the worst things, which makes plastic the perfect material for manufacturing double edged swords. Comedians Claire Hooper, Kirsty Webeck and science journalist Jacinta Bowler help us smother the ocean of igno ... Show More
25m 6s
Dec 2022
Plastic Rap
<p>Plastic waste never really breaks down. It just splits into tinier and tinier pieces until it becomes trillions of microscopic bits scattered across the world. Microplastics are everywhere: In the air we breathe and the water we drink, atop the highest mountains and in the dee ... Show More
38m 23s
Apr 2024
Where Does Plastic Go?
Happy Earth Day, Curious People! To celebrate, we’re inviting research scientist Marcus Eriksen from 5 Gyres to the pod. Marcus tells us about his 88 day journey from California to Hawaii sailing on a raft made from 15,000 plastic bottles to research microplastics in the ocean an ... Show More
49m 4s
Aug 2022
The problem with plastics -- and how to start cleaning up the mess | Patricia Villarrubia-Gómez
<p>Plastics are everywhere -- they're in our favorite electronic devices, they package our food and insulate our homes. Today, the total mass of plastic is twice the total mass of all living organisms on the planet, and it's starting to change the processes that allow the Earth's ... Show More
10m 22s