Reaction Paper on “A plastic ocean”

The film that we watched was about how plastic materials are handled after being
used. It also explains how highly we rely on plastics in our daily lives. After watching the
film, I felt sad as I learned that many of used plastics are just sitting somewhere without
decaying. Plastics are highly durable, it is one good characteristic of it, but it can be also
its disadvantage. Plastics take too long to decompose so as a result, it is hard to get rid
of. Currently, plastic waste clogs up many bodies of water and it also causes pollution.
Many animals both terrestrial and aquatic, have eaten plastic at some point of their lives.
Many of them die because of that reason. They do not digest plastic well. When scientists
dissected a dead bird, they discovered that inside their stomachs, it was full of plastic
waste that they found someplace. Another example are the whales, they also eat plastics
found deep in the ocean. The plastic waste clogged up their digestive system and as a
result, they die from it.

The part that struck me the most is when they showed our country, the Philippines,
in the film. It shows how in Manila, there are people living near places that are very
polluted because of plastic wastes. Places such as the Manila Bay or Smokey Mountains
where there are tons of plastic left untouched. It is a thing that we should not be proud of
as Filipinos as it shows our irresponsibility in simply properly handling trash.

I believe that I contributed to the current situation by buying also materials made
from plastic such as snacks, drinks, or other utilities made of plastic. I also admit that I
sometimes just throw trash in the sidewalks. I think that is how I contributed to the current
plastic waste situation.

First of all, as a student, a change that I can do is, starting by handling waste
properly. Throwing waste in the proper place is a thing not just only me, but everyone can
do. It always starts with small things. And if those small things pile up, it will become
something big. Another thing that I can do to help improve the current situation is recycling
and reusing plastics as much as possible. Avoiding one time use plastic containers is a
good thing and reusing used plastic containers will also help. Another is picking up little
trash that we see outside. Cleaning up is a great way of lessening pollution. As I said, it
is something small. But if we do it together, it will become something big. Finally, I will
quote something someone said in the film, “The one that will solve the plastic problem is
the behavior of the people, we’ll start with that first, then we’ll solve everything else
afterwards.”