Five ways to use less plastic
Parley AIR and SUPPY's invention project
Read the words in the picture
Five ways to use less plastic
- How can we help?
- The biggest thing we can do to help is to reduce the amount of plastic we use. Imagine if every single one of us was able to reduce our usage by 50%? That would make a really big difference. There are some really easy things we can do straight away:
- Use your SUPKids watter bottle instead of buying water bottles.
- Stop using straws & other single use plastics
- Take your own shopping bags to the supermarket
- Try to buy things with as little packaging as possible.
- We can also help by picking up any plastic we find on the beach.
- Remember if we don't pick it up, it will end up in the ocean!
- ECO TEAM TIP:
- We can also make sure we are making all the items we own last as long as possible. So if you have a paddleboard and its broken, try and fix it as many times as possible. If it is no longer repairable, you can upcycle it and give it a new use, maybe making it into a bench for your garden or a table!
- Lizzy Howard
- YUM!
Parley AIR and SUPPY's invention project
- Parley Air
- Our friends at Parley have been coming up with really smart ways to protect the oceans. They've created three rules for us to follow:
- A - AVOID - This rule means trying to avoid using plastics. We can use other materials or at least try and use plastics that have already been recycled.
- I - INTERCEPT - This rule is all about taking care of the plastics we have used. That means making sure we don't let plastics end up in landfill or in our waterways. It also means we try and pick up any plastic we see on our beaches, lakes and rivers.
- R - REDESIGN - This rule is all about coming up with new ideas :) Trying to come up with ways for products to last longer, switching up the materials that are used in everyday stuff that is normally made of plastic and finding cool ways to prevent pollution.
- SUPPY'S Parley Project
- Can you come up with a new invention to reduce plastic pollution?
- Scribble some ideas down here....
- ECO TEAM TIP:
- Starboard use this exact AIR concept! We've Avoid all plastic packaging and now use recycled paper and cardboard, we Intercept using our Plastic Offset Program and we Redesign our boards each year with the aim to use less virgin plastics, more recycled matieral and natural materials.
- Svein Rasmussen Founder; Starboard
Before making something new, imagine a better way to use things
When you hear the word 'inventor,' do you think of someone who builds a machine nobody has seen before? SUPPY's invention challenge is a little different. Ideas that help people use fewer throwaway things, or use what they have for longer, are great places to start. A way to fix a small everyday problem can become an idea for cutting down plastic trash.
The workbook introduces AIR, an idea from Parley, a group that works to protect the oceans. A stands for Avoid: avoiding and cutting down on plastic you don't need. I stands for Intercept: stopping and handling used plastic before it flows into nature. R stands for Redesign: rethinking what products are made of and how they're used, to reduce pollution.
These three aren't rules where you pick just one. Choosing to use less, dealing properly with trash that already exists and finding ways to make things last can all connect. With these ideas, SUPPY invites you to draw an invention that reduces plastic pollution. Being able to explain what problem you want to change matters more than making a fancy drawing.
Try it together
A: Find things you can do without
You can use fewer single-use straws, bring your own shopping bags, choose things with less packaging and use a reusable bottle. Pick one thing your family uses often. Sort the times you really need it from the times another way would work. Don't force yourself to give up things you need every day. Think about ways to reach the same goal while using less new packaging.
I: Stop it before it flows to the water
Where should used plastic go, and how should it be put away? The second AIR idea is taking care that trash doesn't flow onto beaches or into lakes and rivers. Draw a scene where you quickly pick up packaging before the wind blows it away, or do a safe cleanup with a grown-up. When handling real trash, a grown-up should first check that it's safe to touch, and follow your local rules for getting rid of it.
R: Rethink things so they last longer
A broken board can be repaired and used as long as possible. There's also an example of thinking of a new use when it can't be fixed anymore. Look at the thing you chose. Find the parts that break easily or get used once and thrown away. What if you could change a part or refill it many times? Don't start by cutting or taking things apart. First, imagine a longer-lasting design on paper.
Share your invention idea with SUPPY
Draw your idea on paper and give it a name. Next to it, write 'what the problem was,' 'what my idea changes' and 'how it can be used again.' Show it to your family and let them ask about any parts that look hard to use. It's fine to change your first drawing. This is a design activity to do together, based on SUPPY's blank invention space.
Let’s talk
What do you think?
- Which of the three AIR ideas is your idea closest to? Does it include the other ideas too?
- What part could you solve just by changing how you use something you already have, without making anything new?
Where the pictures and activities come from
SUPKids workbook p. 28 ↗ · p. 29 ↗
The pictures are pages from the original workbook. The steps and questions below are Starboard Korea’s notes to help families use them together.
Save the original workbook ↓