Life Cycle
By the numbers
Trash Vortex
A Plastic Ocean
Vocabulary
100

Plastic is made from these.

What is natural, organic materials such as cellulose, coal, natural gas, salt and, of course, crude oil?

100

The most common example of #1 plastic

What is a water bottle?

100

This is how gyres affect plastic in the ocean.

What is bring plastic together and help break it down?

100

These three things break down plastic in the ocean.

What is sunlight, wave action and salt?

100

a mixture of plants and very small animals floating in fresh or saltwater

What is plankton?

200

Do this to stop plastic pollution at the beginning of its life cycle.

What is invent new materials or ban plastic?

200

The worst of the worst kind of plastic this is commonly found as single-use coffee cups and take-out food containers

What is Polystyrene or Styrofoam™ ?

200

1955 Life magazine article "Throwaway Living" introduced this way to cut down household chores.

What is disposable items?

200

Dr Andrea Neal used this tool to collect plastic debris in the ocean.

What is a manitrol?

200

something lasts a long time (won’t break down)

What is durable?

300

Do this to reduce plastic pollution in the middle of its life cycle.


What is reuse it or recycle it?

300

 Yogurt containers and medicine bottles belong to this group of plastics.

What is #5 Polypropylene (PP)?

300

The reason scientists can't find so much of the plastic in the oceans.

What is most plastics have become microplastics (tiny little pieces of plastic)?

300

SINOPEC had bags of these break open in a typhoon off of Hong Kong.

What are nurdles?

300

circular or spiral motion 

(rotating ocean current)

What is a gyre?

400

Do this to get rid of plastic in oceans. Must get all 3

What is use an ocean vacuum cleaner, 

use barrier to collect plastic, 

use wax worms and mealworms to biodegrade plastic?

400

This soft flexible plastic that is often used as: bread bags, frozen food bags, and plastic shopping bags.

What is #4 Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE)?

400

This is how plastic ends up on our dinner plate.

What is plankton eat plastic, fish eats plankton, people eat the fish?

400

When we go to fast food resturants it is hard to find wrap in anything but this.

What is plastic?

400

able to float

What is buoyant?

500

Who and what is harm from plastic pollution?.

People, animals, and oceans (earth)

500

This group of plastics are generally tougher to recycle and are not universally collected in local recycling programs.

What is #7 Other Plastics?

500

This is the problem with having NO waste management system.

What is trash flows into the ocean?

500

Germany made this law about plastic manufacturing.

What is collection and recycling programs?

500

can be molded into a variety of useful objects


What is malleable?