A Plastic Ocean
A Pre-Screening Talk for Oxford Green Week
In November of 2016, we welcomed Oxford DPhil candidate and zero-waste practitioner Hannah Baddock to the shop for an informal evening talk on the problems of ocean plastic pollution and the small changes we can all make to help.
A precursor to the sold-out screening of the new feature length documentary A Plastic Ocean, organised by Hannah and held at St Anne’s College the following week, the talk was simultaneously shocking and inspiring.
To begin with Hannah guided us through the origins of plastic as a commercially-used material and the stages in its journey to becoming so prevalent, before highlighting the true scale of the vast swathes of debris engulfing our seas — containing everything from car bumpers to microscopic synthetic fibres — and the damage that’s being inflicted on marine environments and their wildlife.
It wasn’t all doom and gloom, though. Wanting to end on a more positive note (and being perhaps the most energetic and upbeat person we’ve ever met!) Hannah then provided us with a brilliant insight into the year she recently spent living plastic-free, and shared with us some of her favourite tips for reducing our own everyday plastic consumption.
As a group we all agreed that tackling this issue is something that should be urgently prioritised, and we ended the evening with a fantastically engaging discussion on the steps that need to be taken in order to combat the problem on a local, national and global level.
At the end of what was a truly thought-provoking hour, we came away feeling far more informed and inspired to take action however we can.
Thank you, Hannah!
The full content of Hannah’s presentation can be found here.
You can also folow Hannah on Instagram @hannahsplasticproject