The Plastic Problem/Project

In Los Angeles, hardly any issue has greater global and local repercussions than the plastic trash problem. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is over twice the size of Texas, and countries such as China are now refusing to accept our plastic recyclables. A viral video of a wounded sea turtle motivated a city-wide ban on plastic drinking straws, and yet traditional cafeteria-style dining on campus has declined as students prefer food-court-type eateries abounding in single-use disposables. For several weeks of the semester, my DES 123 Design Challenge students research and react to this topic. While reading texts outlining the causes and scope of the problem (and others posing potential solutions), they save all their plastic trash for one month. Their rubbish becomes the raw material for group projects inspired in part by the traveling exhibition "Gyre: The Plastic Ocean." Outcomes range in focus from awareness-raising to beautifying-repurpose, and students emerge with greater awareness, energy, and problem-solving skills.