us for everything furniture tools storage containers clothing. even tea bags and glitter on birthday cards. it's hard to imagine modern life without sets. so much has been created that total amount ever made at eight

point three billion times. and most of these items are used only short periods of time or even just once before being discarded select said lands and see. if nothing is done we are heading towards the pnet slow food of plastic that the health of plants animals and humans alike will be threatened. and yet fossil fuel companies are investing billions of dollars in producing even more of it. we urgently need to rethink how we manage the plastic we use -- find an alternative. i'm julie on a shot on the west coast of canada act to meet people dedicated to clearing plastic waste from our ocean. and i'm a markedly for in front sweat a movement is afoot to rid the country of oil based plasti. it is not only in that plastic waste can be found on every beach in the world.

from the business features to the most isolated and uninhabited islands. wow no shoreline is untouched by plastic pollution. and if the current rate of global production continues there could be more plastic than fish by weight in our sees by. twenty fifty here in british columbia people decided enough is enough. and i taking strides to stop the tragic destruction of our ocean. ocean legacy is a local foundation whose aim is to tackle the growing problem of plastic pollution along the twenty five thousand kilometers of coastline here. khloe dubois is one of the founders. i'm sorry ni to meet you. alright we first ladies first. the british columbia coast is made up of deep inlets and rugged island shorelines. so helicopter travel isn't just a joy ride. it's essential.

day were headed to the clock what sound. and one of the forty thousand islands that dot the coastline here. the stranger but tricky -- it's really hard to tell just how much debris is actually here because of the logs and rocks. we could spend years cleaning this island alone it's the estimated that there's about five point two five trlion pieces of plastic in the ocean right now. and a lot of those pieces are free to move wherever they want around the planet. aside from the you know the unsightly mess out of pollution on these gorgeous beaches what kind of problems. plastic pollution because when plastic reaches our ocean. it tends to act as littl sponges. so any chemicals that are in the water it will begin to abso these chemicals in the plastic pieces. very toxic and very dangerous for green lights every day we're finding t new animal or whale that's been washed ashore with some exposed plastic. given the amount of plastic here

i'm not surprised wildlife is suffering [inaudible] yeah. allow it yeah you can tell this there'so way we could make a dental cleaning e speech by ourselves. fortunately reiorcements are on the way. here's this remote area clean u. so. ma here comerom different local environmental groups. overall there are five thousand volunteers to call upon across the region. but with so much coastline to monitor chloe and her team rely on tip offs posted on the ocean legacy website to prioritize the most crucial location. what i found like forty four plus [inauble] i hear. yeah these are bear claw marks here in the phone because it smells fishy so when itashes

up on shore the wildlife -- is searching for food and mistakes the styrofoam from being it's good so i once collected. the plastic is ready for transport back to the mainland. i am going to learn how to flame or attacked one of these facts. add -- to at the base the helicopter thirty can lift it out of here. since ocean legacy started the team of collected over five tons of plastic off islands like thi. and they're keeping most of it out of landfills. to but what happens to the plastic they collect. always invited me back to the recycling center in vancouver to find out. what's the next step in the process we take all these rando- hard plastic items and we're going to shred them up. the fragments will then be sold on to companies who will breathe

new life into that. server will become picture frames the charts and picnic benches. well this of old tires will hit the road again as new tires. oceanegacy is even starting to engage high street companies such as lush cosmetics. who are using recycled plastic for their signature packaging? so in order to make the black pot we've needed to turn this material basically. into something that looks like this. so it's still a very small project but we're looking now in our station to grow this much larger to engage more industry. and more clean up groups so that out we can help create an economic value for these materials. they're organized as a nonprofit foundation. which means that all their profits gets funneled into research education and more clean up. nothing goes to waste here. what are we turning this into what the nexstep [inaudible]

this. how are you turning this into fuel? it's a clever solution. plastic is made from fossil fuels after all. to learn more chloe's taking me to the boat where they have a prototype of the machine -- developing on a larger scale. we've sent our parameters and the machine is essentially heating up and we'll start to vaporize the plastic. the plastic is converted into fuel through a process of thermal decomposition called pyrolysis. she is air tight an oxygen free so that the plastic doesn't bur. as the temperature heats up to four hundred and ten degrees celsius. it mounts to become a liquid and then again. container filled wh cool water. ere connses and forms oil? so who could obtain a machine like. the larger scale technology that we're looking to develop would be ideal for remote coastal or even island communities. that don't have readily

accessible fuel sources. and are also inundated with plastic pollution everywhere it makes sense that these remote communities can use that plastic as a resource to where it's sothing that will benefit the community. the machine will take three hours to turn the plastic into fuel. in the meantime i'm off to check out another project. let's focus on recycling and more on changing mindset. it's an artisan author douglas copeland studio on the other side of town. all of these are. yes. the global head dolls is the twenty century twenty century way of looking at plastic is something shiny and how i feel great. then there's like reality in the world right now and how we're adjusting to that. and so these guys here -- possibly plastic girl -- they will be representing future. these figures are part of douglases installation at the vancouver aquarium. and i'm getting them ready for their debut. do you like to do [inaudible]

he says. douglas is using eleven tons of ocean plastic in his show. what inspired you to create this installation piece i grew up north this place called queen charlotte islands? about four years ago i was up there. and plastic bottles recently washing up on the sacred ach. evanlizing moment for me. so i thought well let's maken image of the trash but one which has been through the motional. tangled to it i guess. copeland isn't pretending to offer solutions. but he is hoping to engage audiences. who ordinarily wouldn't stop to think abouthe problem? and ultimately he's hopeful we can turn things around before it's too late. i' heartened by the energy british columbia's putting into tackling the problem of plastic pollution. before i leave i want to return

to the ocean legacy boat. to see how much fu the machine has produced. anything different colors is this the next oil separating into different. it is yeah the what's new coming out of this machine is a mixed oil and in that oil we can separate into kerosene oil diesel fuel and petroleum products. you can make a tricity from it - your lawn mower he is home. how are you using this deal? currently we're not making enough of the fuel to use it in a practical application. and so this is just our small pilot. we really got the world interest right now in watching these units worldwide. theuel will emit greeouse gases a other pollutants. but at least it takes plastic out of circulation. and reduces the need for fossil fuel extraction. so. can we use it in the ship. but yeah let's do it okay. into the hold she goes [inaudible] very.

that sounds good [inaudible] running on being in the same class that we picked up off the beach. ocean legacy are planning to roll out these machines starting in btish columbia in one year's time. they are the first organization to try to turn plastic into fue. order recycling. but what impresses me about chloe and her team. is the determination which drives them to take a multi pronged approach to tackling plastic pollution. it's a problem that won't go away if we continue to use and discard such huge amounts of plastic. but what i see here ves me pe tha if other groups around the world were to work in similar ways. it could be possible to make a real difference. around the world more than forty countries have imposed lewis to cut down on plastics. in two thousand and two hundred

dash was a fast to prohibit than plastic bags. after they clocked storm drains during devastati floods. and in malaysia's federal territories a recent ban has been imposed on plastic bags in favor of biodegradable in compostable bags and food containers. onen kenya it's and use plastic bags with the penaltyf up to fourears in jail. over forty thousand dollar fine. but is it too little too late. plastics maybe being banned on land but they've already made their way into the sea. floating between california and hawaii is a massive come for trash known as the great pacific garbage patch. it's the size of texas and still growing. one in the deep seane of the most inhospitable places on us. scientists have found plastic items almost completely intact. but even more troubling is what

happens when plastic does degrades. mike plastics are five this means granules of plastic which is defined by being less than five minutes. inside the cost off of as large pieces of plastic and then to to littering runnels will pull waste management and up in the marine environment. and when the other spa to sunlight the sunght makes them versatile and the action is the wind and the waves just breaks and dying and they become smaller and smaller they don't buy too crazy to ever really go away and because the very soon then they can be mentally. and tested by a number of different mean animals and they ca re choose the m. nine two of food to the a. soon. i mean ton not has not confessed on their graves and we produce ability. we have found my car plastics everywhere within a week we found on the surface of the ocean refinements to the watercolor. we found in animals like crabs and worms that lived at the

bottom of the sea. saying the plastic meaning if casting a freeway. twenty five million tons of plastic waste is produced by your p. g.. friend so nine fine thing in plastic cups from the way. like many other countries across the world friends faces a monumental plastic waste proble. and this is driving a growing number of campaign as an entrepreneur has to challenge the way the plastic is used and made. will they be able to end the country's dependence on this will be a basic materials. 2 of plastic is recycled inferenc. with the resting up in landfills worse legally dumped. i'm meeting counselor and environmental campaigner irish derren bosch at one of the many tips surrounding paris.

were you by going to see. twenty plus each. at some point. it's and suck on the coast we offer to the method they met the material. it was a buck for fapla. see. a field. yup three do sol melia. some media. is the plastic piece. for did on my own. also known for twice thank you media. some of it within one falls under the channels. it is your promotion of approval [inaudible] this faq -- engine seventy mostro notice your permission to model is something different. well that's good. that is so you don't go she said it will be strong the collision. france is two thousand and fifteen ban is a good start to encourage people to reduce their reliance on plastic. but the next target is twenty twenty when the country will be items like plastic cups.use plates and cutlery.

so i'm embarking on a road trip around friends to find out how ready industry and people offer the changes ahead. first dump some roadside services. so i just stopped to get some water and coffee. to get away. one thing is clear it's going to take serious innovation to wean itself plastics. but on the beach in some manner as a possible solution. david because he manages outgo pack a startup creing plastic from sea weed. so why is sea weed. as a plastics alternative great advantage of sea weed these -- renew ball and it's unlimit. we don't -- need to ourest see we do on the field. and it so forty biodegradable go back to their seats. what is it about the weeds scientifically the makeup what is it that makes it clear what

he's good in c. wheaties devoting their chain? which is very similar to the party matching you can find in the all your base to plastics. petroleum based paulina's on long chains of carbon atoms bonded together. these are producing physically deformed conventional plastic. but they ca also be made from a wide range of buy materials like vegetable oil -- anke like sea weed. david has asked me to help him to collect the brown variety which also happens to be a non native species. i realize that we have. to take the seaweed -- which is. which is a pollution in fact. and which is that the date of two they burnt. sorry this. can be a plastics alternative. it's not going to be a plastic it's gonna b a mature your to be -- basically be -- based material- which would have certain characteristics similar to plaics.

i'll go pack started in two thousand and ten and each year they sell forty tons of a 100% by a plastic. made from hundreds of tons of sea weed. there it is. a treasure. savvy eight limitanei is in charge of production at the plant. what are the other ingredients that are in this fax soon done but the reason i don't for middle? the the sidewalk fat. savvy is playing this one close to his chest. it is commercially sensitive pastoral. and from where i stand the process looks involved. first the sea weed is turned into something that looks like played. before it's dried enough in fifteen now is. after that it's pulverized. this batch here is destined to become flower pots. what exactly does this machine do? and founded the i in case you

missed some key surface. tension to keep them to not to depression. in addition. on them you know hello i'm. may fifteenth mon this you will attest almost from the moment that you. thirty straight to the garden center we have. sixteen small. how long does something like this take to decompose can take- up to four months twelve months depending as went on the coaching the two can -- provide if this was a plastic part how long would that take to decompose five hundred yes. betwee last five hundred years in the nature so you're looking at five hundred years. against four months. do you see a gap in the market for your products. the low and we give a room in the market for the ds rm should be at the same price. 98% of the people are ready to go for something which is greenough

which is better for the environment but at the same price. right now i'll go pack is the more expensive option for consumers. but dobby's hopeful that in twelve to eighteen months they can step up production to offer products that are only 15% more expensive than conventional plastics. weight alternative to plastic was really impressive. the only imitations. commercial viability is super one thing. but these can be overcome i think it's a potential. with the band looming startups around friends are experimenting with plastic alternatives from materials like milk and corn starch. i'm off to see another venture in sent. nicolau mostly is an engineer who recently has developed what he calls a vegan boss who from an ingredient found in most of our cup it's in its refined for. what is this product the one shot? in sugar cane sugar cane yes.

how do you turn this into this? yeah it up think about children- can as to who i was you know a film from you and your date -- killing somebody place each mason you prestige on fixing under daylready console may. to june st pay file month given bell met the family g.. g. filled with today was he an example do one day -- a path field and i can as you can -- content ich is it on the trees in the fall of gm where does the shipper can come from. indemnity indonesia right and who does the transformation from the sugar cane to these pellets. bhattacharyya it up see feel not an easy. yeah. calls will come from some notes on who can tune under. one hundred welfare system all in okay fell in love with tate. as it the other plans nikolai's i can e why the results looy.

good service actually. food food products yes so if i i finished my juice in this posta. and i want toispose of it i don't necessarily need to putn the plastics was you put it in the food waste. all may sci small should a sentinel task folks as well composed a kitchen while. i'm the one who seem wall season along composed telling his hair. pull despised popco movie -- that's amazing but to reduce the need to grow in transport sugar cane i can't help feeling it would be best to simply re use them. nevertheless nikolai's vegan boss wheels our success he's had a wood is two million last year and expects even more for two thousand and eighteen i'd like to see read packaging. these bottles are more expensive than conventional plastic 25% more expensive to be precise si. could something like this would really take off. so i'm here for you to come to

our show and i've been told. that this day so she became a i'm curious to know if anyone can tell the difference or if it even matters to them. so does this look like plastic. leave us awesome to disagree. and how does it feel to know that it's not plastic. ok mostly not. like what i'm going to do this epa. does that affect your decision to purchase these types of bottles of course it's good. to purchase something and be able [inaudible] to this amendment. that was an overwhelmingly positive response and it gives me lots of hope for the future. but is it really going to be so easy to read ourselves a plastics. i'm heading back to paris to meet up again with activist irish to find out what he thinks [inaudible] all right. just stop. by state law.

we'll put the bed of the future beside yourself. april for now. is a good phone will do about i. it would be using okay. well we knew he nothing else. view full the footage. these will be. now. you what was the date of our treasures. france's ban is a gnificant step in the right direction. it will take both political moves like this plus ingenuity and passage choices on everyone's part to make plastic thing of the past. all khan is suffocating from plastic pollution. but around the world people are taking steps to reduce reuse and recycle. in africa only 10% of solid waste is collected. mostly because the problems with accessibility. but a social enterprise in late because my junia is sending

teams on bicycles collects recyclable materials. incentivizing people by offering goods for the waste fire a point system. and in kenya where as many as ninety tons of flip flops wash up on the coast pay yet. traditional shipbuilders and now collecting them to construct bones. projects like these are a start in helping countries and communities tackle the global plastic problem at the local level. the key to turning the tide on plastic before it's too latekkkñ 73ú3ú+ú+ú+ú+ú+ú+ú

♪ >> welcome to “global 3000!” hitting the heights -- why indigenous women are taking on bolivia's summits. earth-bound: families in india are planting trees to curb desertification. what lies beneath, the devastating effects of secret underwater oil-dumping. ♪ thick black clumps on the beaches, birds drenched in oil,