Our Teachers are Brainwashing our Children with ‘The Great Plastic Count’

Posted on 25 Mar 2024

When we send our children to school (grandchildren in my case), it is on trust. These are susceptible young minds which we expect to be taught facts without prejudice, in addition to learning about the world around them. We don’t expect them to be subjected to propaganda from pressure groups. This is exactly what was in ‘The Great Plastic Count’ pamphlet Louis brought home.  

The following are just a sample of what the Greenpeace pamphlet tells our children supported by our schools. It is anti-plastic propaganda, with distorted ‘facts’ and no context.

Hardly any of the plastic thrown away is recycled (Greenpeace)

• The truth is that The UK Environment Agency waste figures for 2023 show, of the 1.9 million tonnes of plastic packaging waste produced in the UK, 1.1 million tonnes was recycled 60%!!
  
• The rest will be burned or go to landfill (Greenpeace)
  
  Energy from waste (EFW) is a key part of the government’s energy strategy. Plastic has a higher calorific content than coal. It is energy in solid form and unlike petrol, diesel, aero fuel, which are ‘single use,’ plastics packaging, has already played an important role in preserving and protecting our food. That plastic, which cannot be recycled, is used for energy. However, the interference from Greenpeace is that plastic ‘being burned’ is wasted.
  
• NB: 8 x more tonnes of paper / board is burned than plastic.
  

Plastics in landfill (Greenpeace)

• Plastics are just 3% of waste going to landfill. They are inert, unlike paper / board, they do not produce greenhouse gas on decomposition. Many major cities such as Leeds, Sheffield recycle plastics and use EFW thus, little or no plastic is sent to landfill.
  

Plastic production should be phased out for good! (Greenpeace)

• Our food, heating, lighting, water, cars, aeroplanes, TV, mobile phones, computers, clothes, furniture, health service, etc. All rely on plastics in some shape or form. Therefore, the question must be asked, why are our schools be providing our children with information that claims ‘we should phase out plastics for good’ when plastic is essential to our whole way of life.  

If the school really needed Louis and his friends to know the truth about why we use plastics, they could have told him;

• Plastics reduce global warming - Global warming is the biggest threat facing our children and our planet. Research by McKinsey and Co (using full life cycle analysis) concludes that, ‘In 90% of applications, plastic had a lower carbon footprint than alternative materials, with comparable Greenhouse Gas Emission reductions of between 10-90%’ (McKinsey Research Report 2022). This is just one example of similar research giving similar results.
  
• Plastics save food Waste as well as reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions - Food waste is the World’s 3rd largest generator of greenhouse gas emissions after the US and China (the UK alone wastes 9.5 million of food pa). Plastic packaging extends the shelf-life of meat, fish, fruits, salads, baked goods, and various selected vegetables, etc. Plastic packaging reduces food waste by up to 30%, whilst also reducing the associated greenhouse gas emissions. (Google).
  
• Plastic Saves lives – Over 20 billion anti-Covid injections were given worldwide (W.H.O) all using plastic phials. Billions of plastic masks, gloves, testing kits, anti-bacterial sprays, etc, were used in the fight against Covid. These did much to save lives and prevent the spread of the disease. For those hospitalised, plastic breathing apparatus, blood and plasma transfusions were critical. All of these use plastic bottles and tubes. Thus, plastic helped to save lives and enabled us to return to normality.
  
• Plastic reduces the use of the World’s natural resources – For example:
  
  Paper: 3 billion trees are cut down every year for paper-based packaging. Each one takes 12-14 years to replace. The pulp and paper industry is the World’s 3^rd largest consumer of water and the 3^rd largest user of energy (Google). In theory, paper / board can be recycled 8 times. European fibres are reused 3.-5 times (European Paper Recycling Report Sept 2022).   

Glass: Melting sand / soda ash / limestone together is highly energy intensive, at up to 1,700°C, whilst recycling repeats this energy intensive process. Whilst Glass is, in theory, infinitely recyclable. In reality, 30% is not recycled, but crushed and used for aggregate (UK Environment Agency Waste Figures 2023). 

Aluminium: Quarrying, crushing, and smelting bauxite is also highly energy intensive at 1700°C. For every tonne of aluminium produced 2 tonne of untreatable toxic ‘red mud’ sludge is produced. There are 4 billion tonnes of this untreatable toxic waste stored worldwide. All aluminium cans are lined with plastic! Without which they could not be used. 20 aluminium can / plastic linings = 1 plastic bottle. The UK recycles 7 billion aluminium cans per year. This means the equivalent of 350 million plastic bottles are incinerated, all adding to CO2 and global warming. 

• Plastic reduces Waste

Paper / board generate over 43% of the UK’s 10 million tonnes of packaging waste, 4% is tin and aluminium, 24% is glass, with wood 10%. Plastics are just 19%. Yet plastics are used to pack over 50% of our food and drink.

Summary

These figures highlight that our children should be told that every time we use plastic rather than alternative material, we not only add to global warming, but also, we add to the waste produced, whilst using more of the Earth’s natural resources.      

Finally, Greenpeace

‘Greenpeace has been hijacked by the political left. It is now a political movement, focussed to instil guilt and fear into the public, in order to raise money. Their campaign against plastics is misguided.’ These are not my words but quotes from Dr Patrick Moore, co-founder of Greenpeace (Confessions of a Greenpeace dropout).

Conclusion

Surely, even if all of what Dr Moore claims are not correct, our Teachers and Schools should check the information they give to our young children. These are impressionable young minds which will remember their role in the ‘Great Plastic Count’ and know nothing of Greenpeace and their need to raise funds to support their 3,500 employees. 

Should our schools be helping them to do this. If your child has been asked to join, please send this to your child’s school to enable them to evaluate their support for ‘The Great Plastic Count.’

As ever, I welcome your thoughts and opinions on any of the items raised. Meanwhile, why not join me on LinkedIn for more regular updates.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/barry-twigg-3a440b53/

#DontHatePlastic