Last Tuesday ten Year 5 Lower School girls were invited to the Senior School with children from other schools to do a plastic workshop.
First we looked at information about how many different plastic items are used every week, month, year and decade. It was a scary amount.
We then looked at how much plastic different countries produce. My group discovered Iceland produced less than half a ton. Using lego bricks to represent a ton of plastic waste we put our lego bricks on a map to see how much waste different countries produced. I was very shocked by how much China, Indonesia and America produced as it was an extraordinary amount.
Next we watched a video about albatrosses and what has been found inside their stomachs. These birds accidentally eat a wide range of plastic from latex gloves, plastic bags which can kill the endangered birds. Even small tooth picks can pierce their stomachs. I felt guilty because we’re responsible for producing all this plastic.
After the break the sixth formers and teachers showed us how to create a skipping rope out of plastic bags. We were given strips cut from plastic bags and tied these together and plaited the strips and then twisted the plaits together to make a strong rope for skipping. Reusing the plastic to remake something new didn’t take much effort and was great fun.
I really enjoyed the workshop and it made me even more determined to help reduce how much plastic I use to help save the environment and protect wildlife.
By Anokhi (Year 5)