Flip The Script – Swap Plastic

What is Flip The Script Friday?

Flip The Script Friday is an event that takes place on a fortnightly basis where we invite organisations/adults onto our website/social media to answer the questions that young people have for them.

Why is it a thing?

This is an opportunity for young people’s voices to be heard and to have their questions answered. But equally, it’s a chance to destigmatize the discussion of mental health, highlight the great work that organisations are doing and to make reaching out for support from them less intimidating.

This week…

We collaborated with, Swap Plastic!  We’re five young women who began the SwapPlastic campaign through UpRising UK because of our mutual concerns about plastic pollution. We’ve operated entirely online through Zoom and Slack and are still yet to meet in person as a team.  SwapPlastic aims to educate people and businesses about plastic and give solutions to swap plastic where it isn’t necessary. We push the concept of being ‘plastic-aware’, not anti-plastic. Plastic could be great for climate change if we use and recycle it properly.

Q&A Time

We had so many questions sent in by young people to our Instagram @platfform4yp and here are some of the highlights!

Our shared interest in plastic pollution led us to create SwapPlastic. We still feel plastic is a very confusing topic for consumers like us and we want to help clear up people’s questions and concerns.

Plastic pollution affects biodiversity loss more than climate change. 1 million seabirds and 100,000 marine animals die each year due to plastic pollution (WWF). Microplastic has now been found in unborn foetuses and there’s a lot we don’t know yet.

We have a lot of plans, including hosting conferences for students and businesses on plastic usage, seminars on topics like microplastics, creating a toolkit for businesses to use… anything, really! We’re in this for the long run 🙂

We coordinate with organisations helping with funding – for example, Peace First. We’re open to any other funding opportunities, so get in touch!

Zero-waste shops, small and local businesses, schools and students to inspire change and raise awareness!

1. You don’t need to be a professional to start acting on something you care about. You can do it right now!

2. Don’t be anti-plastic – be plastic-aware! There are thousands of types with different qualities. Think about plastic’s pros and cons and question how we can use it in an eco-friendlier way.

1. Nikita: Going out in nature

2. Jyoti: Spend time with family

3. Rosie: Either reading, watching films or going to the beach

1. Climate change and plastic pollution can make people have eco-anxiety which affects mental health

2. It makes them feel hopeless that they cannot cause change.

3. We want to show people they can make small changes themselves which makes a big difference to plastic pollution.

1. Nikita; meditating, self-care, putting phones away, exercise and eating well!
2. Jyoti: self-care, travel and dance!
3. Rosie: yoga, reading and binge watching Gilmore Girls 🙂 and I rarely go on my personal social media which I think helps a lot!

1. David Attenborough. He is a legend

2. Rosie: Boyan Slat – he got the idea for the Ocean CleanUp when he was eighteen and used it to create the biggest ocean cleanup project to date AND he’s multilingual!

3. Jyoti: Tom Szaky- he is the CEO and founder of TerraCycle!

1. 46% of marine pollution comprises fishing nets (Source: The Ocean CleanUp)! If you want to reduce your plastic footprint, think about bottom trawling and where your fish is coming from!

2. According to Plastic Oceans, plastic pollution kills 1 million marine animals each year while less than 9% of all plastic gets recycled (Source: Plastic Oceans International, 2021). https://plasticoceans.org/the-facts/

1. For facts, follow our account on Instagram @swapplastic 😉

2. Look for return schemes from shops like the Body Shop, Boots etc. to reduce your waste

3. There are loads of litter picking groups around – have a look on Facebook for your local one

4. Swap plastic where you don’t need it with one product at a time. Research your soap, then your shampoo, then your toothbrush etc. Baby steps!

5. Check out TerraCycle UK for recycling schemes!

1. Nikita: Music: Hip hop and R&B. Film: Psychological and Book genre: Based on true novels

2. Rosie: Music: Pop, folk, rock, R&B and anything in between. Film: I am guilty of watching too many rom-coms, but love a true story. Books: I love reading so open to anything, but YA fantasy and true stories probably come up top.

3. Jyoti: Latino Hip-Hop (music); anything in between horror, comedy and romance (film and book genre)

Get involved with PeaceFirst (13-25 year olds) or UpRising UK (18-25 year olds) – both are amazing organisations that support young people creating positive change on any issue you care about, not just plastic pollution.

1. Check out the Institution of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3) and their podcast – they have some interesting discussions on waste and plastic

2. WRAP UK, who run RecycleNow.com and the ClearOnPlastics campaign give helpful advice

We should reduce plastic pollution precisely because its impact is still relatively unknown in the long term, though of course we know wildlife is dying en masse already. Reusing plastic properly can also help us with fighting climate change since some plastics have smaller CO2 emissions overall than glass, metal and paper.

1. Nikita: Antarctica because it will never be the same with climate change

2. Rosie: Madagascar. I’d love to learn Malagasy and observe the wildlife, from spiders to lemurs to fossa.

3. Jyoti: Malolo Island in Fiji because sustainability is part of their training programme and culture!

1. A conference (virtual or in-person depending on COVID) where UK businesses and students can meet solutions to their plastic problems, with plenty of plastic swaps explained!

2. Use for personal branding to spread the message of #beplasticaware and not #antiplastic

A shocking, must-watch documentary.

Seaspiracy was definitely an insightful watch. It puts together the relationship between plastic waste, slavery, animal cruelty and seafood. There are definitely issues that are under looked such as the massive impact caused by the commercial fishing industry, and the damage done until now could take several years to fix. Statistical facts were certainly most shocking – nearly 50% of plastic in one area of the Pacific Ocean is fishing nets!

Advice: It will most certainly alter your perspective and make you more conscious of your decisions and showcase the reality of the fishing industry. Be prepared to hear the truth.

Remember, we cannot survive without our oceans 🌊

2 most common misconceptions:

1. Plastics that go into recycling bin get recycled.
Truth: not all are recyclable, and yet many end up in a landfill. Be aware of active recycling schemes such as @terracycleuk

2. Plastics should be banned.
Truth: no, plastic plays an important role. But remember to be plastic aware, and NOT anti-plastic. Swap plastic where possible & practical! Swap plastic for planet 🌍

Think long-term and save every scrap of food.

Be willing to spend more upfront in order to save more in the long term e.g. a reusable bottle may cost more than a single-use bottle, but you’ll never need to buy a single-use bottle again. Same with menstrual cups and single-use period products.

Food uses a LOT of plastic packaging, so save it – freeze all your leftovers to get a ‘free meal’ later on, or an easy lunch the next day.

1. Get your family/friends onto return schemes! Boots, Lush, M&S and increasingly more businesses have return schemes where you get free products and/or money back. Everyone loves saving money/free stuff.
2. Look at your local council’s website for recycling advice and make it as easy as possible for your family to recycle e.g. make a list of what goes where and stick it by your bins, look into @terracycleuk , etc. You need to take responsibility 💚 You can do it!
3. Be helpful and encouraging when family/friends take recycling seriously, not critical and scolding when they don’t 🙂

Want to get involved with Swap Plastic! Go to their instagram and Facebook @swapplastic 

Swap Plastic are doing a webinar on micro-plastics on 14th May so keep an eye on our Instagram!

Missed out on asking a question this time? No Worries! Keep an eye on our Instagram @platfform4ypfor the next Flip The Script! Want to ask a specific individual/organisation questions? DM us and we will make it happen! Until next time!