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TED Talks Daily

What happens to the plastic you throw away? | TED Climate

TED Talks Daily

TED

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4.111.9K Ratings

🗓️ 13 August 2021

⏱️ 12 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

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. Host Dan Kwartler 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 the world. Plus, three things you can do to put a cap on our plastic problem.

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Transcript

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0:00.0

Hey, TED Talks Daily. It's Elise Hu. Today, we've got an episode of TED Climate. If you'd like to hear more ideas on how we can change climate change, follow Ted Climate, wherever you're listening to this. Enjoy.

0:19.3

Hello, and welcome to Ted Climate, a podcast from the TED Audio Collective. I'm your host, Dan Cortler,

0:25.1

and on this show, we're going to be staring straight into the abyss of the climate crisis.

0:29.5

Don't worry, though. We're not going to bum me out too much. Each episode of this season will look at two

0:34.3

different sides of the same issue. So we'll explore big questions like,

0:38.4

could we transition to only renewable energy and what would happen if every human just disappeared,

0:44.6

but we'll also dig into the smaller things that actually affect your day-to-day life.

0:48.7

Hopefully, these stories will reveal some small changes you can make to feel like you're

0:53.6

actually doing something

0:55.3

instead of just, you know, tumbling towards inevitable doom.

1:00.1

This week's topic, plastic.

1:05.4

So our first question is probably one that you've asked on your last grocery trip.

1:12.8

Which bag should I use?

1:18.6

Plastic, paper, or cloth? Cities around the world have actually begun moving away from single-use plastic bags. These are the thin, flimsy bags that you might see stuck in a tree or blowing

1:24.0

through the wind. But what exactly is the environmental impact of using a plastic bag as opposed to another kind of bag?

1:30.6

Surely a paper bag or a cotton tote would be the better option.

1:33.9

But is that actually true?

1:36.5

Each of these three materials actually has a unique environmental impact that's determined by a couple of factors, three things.

1:43.7

Its carbon footprint, its potential

1:45.5

to be reused and recycled, and its degradability. So to get the full story on these grocery

1:51.7

bags, we need to talk about how they're made, how they're used, and where they ultimately go.

1:57.7

Let's start with plastic. The typical thin, flimsy plastic bags are made of high-density

...

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