#EVERYDAYPLASTICSUPERHEROES
CREDITS:
DIRECTOR - Eleanor Church PRODUCTION MANAGER - Liz Trustrum
CO-SCRIPTWRITER - Will Lowe AUDIO - Simon Keep
VOICEOVER - Paul Press
REDUCE REUSE RECYCLE
We have it in each of us to be a superhero, every day. We really do!
Every time you say "No, thanks" to a plastic bag and bring your own, every time you say "I've got my own cup, thanks" when you grab a coffee instead of using a non-recyclable cup, every time you wipe your baby's bottom with a washable wipe instead of a baby wipe, you are literally SAVING THE WORLD. Toothbrushes, cotton buds, water bottles, coffee cups, glitter, baby wipes, straws, shopping bags... These are all things that are often made of plastic, that we use once or twice then throw away, but there are brilliant non-plastic alternatives to all of these!!
Why do we need to? Well, you've probably heard about our mounting problem with plastic and, in particular, ocean plastics. It's everywhere, around or in almost everything we use. There are a few sides to this problem... The production of plastic, the way we deal with it once it's been used and then how long it takes to break down and disappear. And that's the thing, it can take hundreds (sometimes thousands) of years to breakdown and doesn't ever really disappear.
A lot of plastic ends up in the sea where it breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces until it is often impossible to remove it. These pieces are called microplastics. Microplastics are brilliant magnets for toxics which are other harmful pollutants that have ended up in the sea. Smaller creatures in the sea often mistake these for food, they ingest them and are eaten by bigger fish or creatures, and they in turn, are eaten by something bigger,... Yes - this is the pyramid food chain that we learn about in school. The higher up we go, the bigger the fish or creature and the higher the concentration of these toxics. These have been shown to contribute to serious health problems that many people are affected by. It a convoluted journey from your toothbrush to your health - but it's a very real one. And that's just how it affects us! We've seen birds feeding their young bits of plastic, whales with plastic bags in their stomachs. The madness of how much we use without even noticing definitely calls for a lot of hard work and negotiating by our politicians and business leaders, but also for our vast global team of Everyday Superheroes!!!
Click on our superheroes to find out more:
USEFUL WEBSITES FOR MORE INFO:
MARINE CONSERVATION SOCIETY (MCS)
Why make this film? I raised the funds through Kickstarter to help raise some funds for an expedition I will be part of in June this year. I'm going to be sailing 3000 nautical miles across the North Pacific in June with a formidable all-women crew as part of eXXpedition (eXXpedition.com). Over three weeks, we will travel from Hawaii to Vancouver through the densest ocean plastic accumulation zone on the planet, the North Pacific Gyre (better known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch). Why? We will each be doing some form of research - scientific, design-based, creative,... looking at the impacts of plastics on the health of the planet and also our bodies. We will be doing daily trawls to see (sometimes we'll be able to do that just with our eyes, often we'll have to do that with microscopes) what is in the water around us. I will be making a long documentary film for a global audience about the expedition and the issues, with a strong focus on how microplastics are affecting our health, to make people think about this like they never have before - and to look towards solutions. It's an expensive affair so I'm still fundraising. I don't like asking but if you would like to support the trip, you can find out more here.
Please share the film if you would like to - the more people who see it, the better. And add a #everydayplasticsuperheroes to any photos of you on Instagram or Twitter sharing your superheroic actions with us.
You can use this embed code if you would like to add it to a website:
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I always like knowing where my films are seen so drop me a line if you get the chance.
To find out more about my expedition, you can get updates from my blog here: larkrisepictures.com/blog-1
Making this film was a big team effort. I'd like to say a very big THANK YOU to everyone who supported my Kickstarter (you know who you are - thank you thank you thank you!) and to the companies who made the plastic-alternative products in the film that provided financial support and the goods! These are:
Earth positive, organic cotton shopping bags - quality unrivalled! I visited one of their supply chains a few years ago with Lily Cole - exemplary!
Thank you to all our willing actors - you truly are superheroes - and our runners from Good Gym Colchester
And thank you to these guys for providing filming beautiful filming locations:
