The Story of Plastic Bottles

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The story of three plastic bottles. Their journeys are about to diverge with outcomes that impact nothing less than the fate of the planet. To understand where these bottles end up, we need to first explore their origins. It could take our first bottle in agonizing one thousand years to decompose. Most plastics don't, byo degrade, meaning they're destined to break down into smaller and smaller pieces called micro plastics,. which could rotate in the sea eternally.

Plastic is everywhere. We know we should cut down on it where we can, but is plastic ever the answer? In this episode, a whole world of plastic you never knew about. Starting with: which bag is best: paper, plastic, or cotton? The answer might surprise you. Dan 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 our world. Plus, three things you can do to put a cap on our plastic problem. This is an episode of TED Climate, another TED Audio Collective podcast. For more, find the podcast wherever you're listening to this. You can read the full text transcript for this episode at go.ted.com/TC1