by Adrian Vidal

Once upon a lifetime, there was a small land (1 m² wide) where the ants (family Formicidae) live as empires. There we two such empires: Woody and Metallika. Empire Woody was rich in wood. Wood was harvested from the aged roots of the Nearby Tree. On the other side, Empire Metallika has tons of metal obtained from scraps of material needed for constrction of buildings.

These empires are rivals. Why? Before Empire Woody was established, they needed their own buildings. To construct such, they needed nails for finishing. Even though Metallika had abundant source of metal, they stood that metals are expensive and so Woody must exchange 100 mL of wood for 1 micromilliliter of metal.

Woody Empire was deprived of wood, still they need more metal. The termites were then eating the wood of the Nearby Tree. Empire Woody was declining. They had lost power, wood, and workers.

A few weeks later, a new breed of ants invaded Empire Woody’s territory. They introduced a long chain of organic molecule ingeniously combined with coloring, a.k.a, plastic scraps.
HDPE+++…to be continued…+++PET

By Mark Joseph Calubad

As I conducted a survey on people at the residential areas, I noticed that the size of a plastic bag does matter. As I survey those people, I observed that bigger plastic bags are more useful for them than smaller bags.

Their reason for that is that they can use it in many more ways. For example they can use it for cleaning trash or for carrying heavy and many things. Unlike the smaller ones which is not so useful.

So as my opinion to all of you, use the bigger ones so that we can use less plastic and help our mother earth have less trash.

Stop this mess,make a change.

By Adrian Vidal

This post is for those who thought that our site has a stand that plastics are useless. Of course, they are not useless. Plastics have given us the luxury of life. However, we are still advocating less usage of plastics.

Why? Because in a technical sense, plastics we refer to today are the cheap ones, i.e., disposable. We have the high quality plastics. We can use them; they last long; and have stronger capability. What do I mean by greater capability? Capability can be referred to as the tensile strength, elasticity, and other physical properties.

If we could replace the cheap ones by the new types of plastic, why not? Take note that high quality plastics are expensive. Thus, if you are a consumer receiving a high quality plastic, will you throw it away?

We have this mentality: ah it’s cheap. I’ll just throw it away. I’ll just buy it again another day. Therefore, this form of psychology can actually (1) minimize our use of cheap plastics, (2) promote the use of more sustainable plastic, and (3) modernize the global population.

Let’s refer to (1). Maybe you are asking, “Is he promoting plastics?” The answer is ‘partly’. HIgh quality, high standard, engineered plastics are least likely to cause pollution. There are some plastics that are biodegradable. There are some plastics that are degradable by geological or meteorological processes.

Another defense question may be, “…there are high quality plastics that are not degradable at all. How’s that?” I have said that high quality plastics have greater capabilities. I’ll introduce (or reiterate) recycling. If you are a hobbyist recycler, which would you choose?(a) a plastic bag with rotten food or (b) a high quality plastic left on a street. Answer it yourself.

The choice is left to you. What you do influences others. What you see influences yourself. What you think calls you to act. Stop this mess.

By Mark Joseph Calubad

I just thought of something,why are we using straws even though we can drink by ourselves? Well that the thing that I’m researching as I write this article. The questions that are in my mind is that who invented this thing? Why did he create it? Why do people accept it? Well, those are the questions that I will discuss in this article.

From the site that I had reaserched, straws are made by Marvin Stone, a manufacturer of a paper cigarette holders. It is also said that before Marvin’s straw thing made of paper, the drinkers used natural rye grass straws. I don’t even know why they use that and for me that is so weird.

And as time pass the manufacturing of Stone was named “Stone Straw Corporation” which made paper straws and as time pass and our technology evolves straws is eventually made by using plastics.

The first thing that I want to express here is that the straws are not as necessity now and before because as you read this article, you will see that it is only used for drinking which can be done by humans without the help of these straws.And the other problem now with straws is that it is now made with plastics.

If only people will know that the true thing about the necessity and know what is the effect of these plastic-made things, they will not manufacture it.

So again, Stop this mess and use less Straws!!..:D

SOURCE:http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blstraws.htm

By Juriel Ramirez

Well, I am already 15 and since I am trap in the dorm during my birthday, my family decided to go out for dinner last Sunday. After reaching the mall, it took us at least 10 minutes to decide where should we eat. Finally, we chose this certain restaurant after I joked about their promo. We settled in and my family and I begun to feast upon the dishes being served to us. We did not only celebrated my 15th birthday, but also my parents’ 20th anniversary. After eating everything that we can take, we decided to just take out what was left because it was such a waste of money if we don’t. We paid our bill that was more than what we have expected. After the pancit and chickens were packed, we stepped out of the restaurant. Then suddenly, my mom complained about the ugliness of the plastic. The plastic was ugly because you can really see what is the content of it. The plastic was like the ice plastic bags, but with color brown. My dad soon realized it and came back to let his voice be heard by the management. An employee received my dad rudely and this really frustrated my dad. He ordered for an apology from the management. If the management wasn’t able to satisfy my dad, they would face a whole lot of trouble. After their apologies, they gave us a better package. This package is a paper bag. As we were walking away from the restaurant, I saw that at least 4 people looked pale: the manager, the employee, a customer and the guard. And this was caused by plastic.

by Adrian Vidal

Here is an interview made online.
¿¿ Js ®øGú£ ™:maybe they are not interested to our topic?
Adrian:yes, and it’s good to know that you are interested
¿¿ Js ®øGú£ ™:thats good
¿¿ Js ®øGú£ ™:but, how about in your opinion?
¿¿ Js ®øGú£ ™:are these plastics are useful to you
¿¿ Js ®øGú£ ™:is it easy for you to carry some things using plastics?
¿¿ Js ®øGú£ ™:yes i am interested w/ this topic..
Adrian:i admit sometimes i use plastics. now that we know the state of our environment we should change
¿¿ Js ®øGú£ ™:cuz i really want to know which is better to use?
¿¿ Js ®øGú£ ™:am i right?
¿¿ Js ®øGú£ ™:by the way wat do you mean that the state of your environment is what?
¿¿ Js ®øGú£ ™:yeah i want to
Adrian:it’s drastic
¿¿ Js ®øGú£ ™:want to be confidential..
Adrian:heard of the inconvenient truth?
Adrian:ok
¿¿ Js ®øGú£ ™:i heard some little things about these topics.. but some other people disagree about my opinion..
¿¿ Js ®øGú£ ™:ahh kei
¿¿ Js ®øGú£ ™:no. i’m not pointing about inconvenient truth
¿¿ Js ®øGú£ ™:i just wanna know your opinion about this interesting topic…
¿¿ Js ®øGú£ ™:state something about ur opinion
Adrian:my opinion is that we made this problm therefore we must solve it
¿¿ Js ®øGú£ ™:tell me something about this topic?
¿¿ Js ®øGú£ ™:alright , then
¿¿ Js ®øGú£ ™:you know at this time.. i supposed to sleep.. but i can’t signout because of this very interesting **** topic….
¿¿ Js ®øGú£ ™:wwwah.. i love it
¿¿ Js ®øGú£ ™:its too funny about this topic. but its better to take up this lessons.. composing of different opinions,confusing problems.. and a pointless answers. right?
Adrian:uhmm what can you say to those living it with plastics
Adrian:yah i agree
¿¿ Js ®øGú£ ™:its better to use paper bags than to use a plastics. because paper bag is moe elegant than plastics
¿¿ Js ®øGú£ ™:its more than sossy than those cheap plastics
Adrian:for example, if i say that not everyone are sossy, what do you have to say?
¿¿ Js ®øGú£ ™:ahh
¿¿ Js ®øGú£ ™:if u buy plastic.. each costes 5 psos or something?
¿¿ Js ®øGú£ ™:5 php each of these?
Adrian:ok then what about the paper bags?
¿¿ Js ®øGú£ ™:because paper bags ar made out of paper.. its more cheaper when you buy it..than to buy a plastic cost php5. but its not look cheap when you use clean and nice paper to do these paper bags.. they look
¿¿ Js ®øGú£ ™:more expensive even though its less than php5
¿¿ Js ®øGú£ ™:w8 i have to clear something on my answer
Adrian:are you familiar with the cloth bags?
¿¿ Js ®øGú£ ™:yes
¿¿ Js ®øGú£ ™:i use that
Adrian:from a mall?
¿¿ Js ®øGú£ ™:u can stitch that made out from extra cloths..
¿¿ Js ®øGú£ ™:yes..
¿¿ Js ®øGú£ ™:but if u can do stitching ina very good way..
¿¿ Js ®øGú£ ™:why not u can use that
Adrian:right
Adrian:have you ever discussed this topic with youe peers?
¿¿ Js ®øGú£ ™:never.
Adrian:why
¿¿ Js ®øGú£ ™:this topic is not interesting for them
¿¿ Js ®øGú£ ™:so.. sir what can u say about my opinion?

So, what can you say? Interviews like these are important in spreading the word when nobody seems to listen. If only people have similar objectives that may vary a little, we can make a change. The interview may have been rough but I hope you get the point.

by Terence Dy Echo

Plastics have been a part of our daily lives. From the wet markets to supermarkets, carinderias to restaurants, and tiangges to malls, plastic plays a major role in today’s economy. As you carry and use these materials, do you bother finding out what composes plastic?

Technically, a plastic is a polymer of high molecular weight. Majority of the plastics are polymers of carbon, with the frequent combination of oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur. A plastic’s molecular bond which makes it durable, helps it be resistant to natural degradation. With this property, and the massive production of plastics, there is no doubt that one day, our world will be nothing but a dumpsite.

Another problem with plastics is that they cannot be burned, for they release toxic fumes.

Sure, different organizations nowadays are working to promote recycling. Yet, let’s admit it, recycling plastics is labor intensive, and is not enough to contain our global plastic production and consumption. It’s all up to you now, dear readers, to go and try to make a change.

And oh, let me leave a note. Plastics were produced to provide convenience in our lives. They were provided for us to live a little more leisurely. Yet then again, I plead. As we try to live conveniently, let our Earth be saved from inconvenience. While we live leisurely, let us give our environment its own contentment. Let us work in saving our planet, while we still have time…

The plastic that we use every day in school, work, or home is only a link in the chain of disasters to come if we don’t exactly manage our non biodegradable products as well as we really should. Some examples of the links before and after plastic products is the manufacturing of plastics, these plastics are made with the use of fossil fuels, not only do we decrease the abundance of our non-renewable resource, but we also pollute our atmosphere by releasing Carbon Dioxide (CO2) in the air. The other effects of using plastics and disposing of them in the wrong way could be, the destruction of the biosphere, examples are the improper disposal of our wastes in plastic bags dumped in landfills that used to be a forest filled with life, and in the sea where the plastic bags filled with our trash, kills our marine animals. Instead of dumping plastic bags and other non-biodegradable products in landfills, some of us burn our trash to “eradicate” them from the face of the earth, but all we do is send the pollution up to the atmosphere. Burning of our plastic bags and garbage increases the concentration of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) in the air. Since plastic is one of urban living’s necessities, we cannot exactly halt the production of plastic products, so we take care of the following links in the chain, the use and disposal of our plastic or non-biodegradable products.

Reducing the quantity of the plastic bags that we dump in our landfill starts with the purchase of not only our plastic products, but along with the rest of our daily necessities. Purchase wisely and maximize the use of what you buy. A friend recommended once that the price of plastic bags should raised and the introduction of grocery bags should be implemented to suggest the decrease the use of plastic in supermarkets and other stores and stalls, where most plastic bags are used. As what we always say, the three R’s “REDUCE, RE-USE, RECYCLE,” this is the one and only commandment that you must keep in mind when wanting to be environmental friendly. Plastic bags can be reused at some times, simple storage, wrapping, support, furniture/art, and much more. Before the disposal of such products, please remember that “another man’s trash is another’s treasure,” please consider the other people around you that may want your so called “trash,” after the printing, revision, and approval of a draft on a report, your younger sibling may want the back of your report to use as scratch paper to pour her imagination on, or giving old furniture, toys, clothes to those who really need them, or as gifts to serve as memorabilia. As for plastic bags and such, keep in storage for further use. When the time comes for disposal of your garbage, we usually place our trash in plastic bags (no wonder plastics make up most of our trash,) but before thinking of throwing away, one must segregate their waste. Separating biodegradable and non-biodegradable trash is very helpful even at a household rate. Burying your biodegradable waste at the comfort of your own backyard will help you and the environment, your compost pile being a source of nutrient rich soil and a habitat for some animal species. With your own compost pile, you can reduce the number of plastic bags used for waste disposal by half. For some non-biodegradable products such as bottles, metals, and more, these non-biodegradable products can be brought to the junkshop to be exchange for some quick, easy, and legal cash.

Here are only a few but doable ways on how to reduce or maximize the use of plastics and non-biodegradable products in your everyday life.

REMEMBER TO BE GREEN!

STOP

THIS

MESS

*If you guys want to share your own ideas and ways on how to reduce plastic / non-biodegradable waste, feel free to comment (no matter how radical it may be)*

by Adrian Vidal

Plastic materials belong to the group of non-biodegradable wastes, meaning these materials cannot br decomposed by some saprophytes. Every store has a bunch of plastics because these are being used to contain the consumer goods bought. However, let us think again. How many such stores exist? There are a lot of those stores not to mention the flea markets. In a sarcastic way, we could say that we get to buy our goods with a free plastic container.

We are plastic, do not deny it. Almost every aspect of our lives revolve around plastic. We have heat-proof plastic for microwaves, computer storage devices, plastic robots and toys. We move through time with plastic. Take note what plastics are before you attempt to use it. It is not easily decomposed. Therefore, using it carelessly and unlimitedly is drastic since it does harm all organisms. How? The most obvious is water pollution. Aquatic organisms mistake plastic and other pollution as food. Pollutants harm these organisms. Thus, we are left to two predictions: the organism will die or the organism will magnify the concentration of pollutant and takes it to the higher level of the food chain (called biological magnification). Let’s take this as an example: biological magnification on fishes. We eat fishes, so if we eat these fishes, the concentration of the pollutant, especially plastics becomes too high. If bad luck is in our hands, this concentration may be enough to kill us.

We can redo the existence of plastics. The solution may be recycling. The Internet is a good source for information so why not go for a research on plastic treatment. We have heat-proof plastic and unbreakable plastic. We can use them for effective long-lasting structures. Plastics are non biodegradable. Therefore, almost no organism would dare to destroy these structures.

Nowadays, we see advertisements to take action regarding global climate change. Advertisements are made to promote something. A new prank is being introduced: “biodegradable” plastics. The test of biodegradability may be done experimentally. Whatever the purpose of the introduction of these plastics in the stores. We must take a stand.

We get plastics for free almost always, thereby destroying the environment for free. However, the repair of such destruction is a large amont to pay.