Plastic is ubiquitous and a material that many of us take for granted, especially single-use plastics. While plastic offers convenience and versatility, we have to consider that every piece of plastic ever made still exists on the planet. Philippe Cousteau meets with Mark Rodrigue from Parks Victoria at the Marine and Freshwater Discovery Centre, and biologist and filmmaker Sheree Marris, to learn more about the unique ecosystem of southern Australian. Dive in with Philippe and fur seals and more in Port Phillip Bay.

In this investigation, students describe the life cycle of man-made products that include or originate from plastic to evaluate how they may impact the environment. Students use a basic life cycle assessment – similar to assessments used by process engineers – that allows them to identify and order the different steps in the life cycle of a product. Using their analyses to compare the impacts of different products, students develop ideas to reduce the environmental impact of the production process or lifecycle of the product.

As the name suggests, microbeads are very small (microscopic) beads of plastic. Since they are particles of less than 1mm, they are almost impossible to capture as they enter household drains. This leaves these small, solid balls of plastic to enter our aquatic ecosystems where they are ingested by organisms and accumulated within the food web. In this activity, students are challenged to design and construct their own device to extract microplastics from cosmetic products such as facial cleansers, body wash, and toothpaste.