BY ALICE
Earlier in the term the Two Hands Project came to the Mosman Youth Centre to talk to the View Finders team as well as a representative of the Mosman High environmental group. A member of the project, Silke, talked to us about the detrimental impact of single-use plastics on the environment.
Silke and her colleague from Two Hands gave a presentation on the negative impacts plastics are having and how plastics are an extremely unsustainable material. The presentation gave the View Finders a much better understanding of the consequences of using plastic bags as some of the statistics that were given were almost incomprehensible. These facts made the group really think about the impact we have on the environment and how we are responsible for the future of our marine life and the environment more broadly.
Better Bag for a Better World
View Finders recently collaborated with the Mosman High environmental team on an initiative to reduce plastic bag use in the local area – the Better Bag for a Better World initiative. The information learnt at the Two Hands presentation was extremely insightful and useful to the View Finders team to help communicate to the public why single use plastics are destroying the environment. The initiative was run by Mosman High’s environmental group which involved two stalls being set up outside of IGA to give out sustainable and re-usable calico bags (that were decorated in tie dye by the group) to members of the public in an attempt to change people’s habits around using plastic bags for shopping.
View Finders have now also organised a beach clean-up inspired by the Two Hands Project. To find out more about the beach clean up, click here.
Here’s what some of the View Finders members had to say about the workshop:
Sarah
“The workshop with the Two Hands Project was really interesting and taught our group a lot about the reality of “recyclable” and “ecological” plastic bags. We discussed how efficient and beneficial “eco” plastic bags are, which was quite impactful; I didn’t know how damaging even these supposedly beneficial solutions were. As a result, I’ve taken to using fabric reusable bags a lot more, or carrying things without bags when I can.
Two Hands was really passionate about their cause and they had a lot of facts to back up their claims – one example that seemed to resonate with the group was the fact about the number of plastic straws the average Australian uses each year. It added up to around one straw per day, or between 300 and 400 straws each year. The idea that even the smallest things can have a big impact on the environment was one that really stuck with us. The meeting left us wanting to make a difference and as a result we joined with Mosman high volunteers to help with a plastic bag event a few weeks later.”
Edward
“The two hands project presentation was an eye-opening experience that has improved my understanding of pollution and plastic use. Not only the facts but also the pieces of evidence that Silke provided us with made me think more critically about my plastic use. The bottle that she had which was half full with an array of different plastics, found in a dead birds stomach, was the one thing that really made me most aware and concerned about the issue.
Following on from the presentation, I have found myself to be a much more thoughtful and critical person when I use plastics. Even the small things like using a recyclable bag or not using a straw at maccas are just two examples of this. I realise that even though my personal impact may not be huge, my actions could influence other people to change.”
Thank you Two Hands Project for showing us the impact we are all having on our environment when using single use plastics!
