Lack of Narrative: How Science Communication Fails the General Public
Book Summary:
Plastics by Imari Walker-Franklin and Jenna Jambeck provides a comprehensive introduction to the life cycle of plastics—from fossil fuel refinement, the breakdown of these plastics into micro and nanoplastic particles, to the discovery of these particles in human beings. The authors describe how plastics are made, the rise in popularity of plastics in the 1950’s, the improper disposal of these materials, and the policy and infrastructure steps needed to protect the health of the planet and all its’ inhabitants.
Impressions and Book Club Critiques:
The ProSPER book club chose to read Plastics due to its petite size, and the potential for the book to deliver crucial information in a concise manner. The book did deliver on packing abundant information about the production of plastic and the chemical and physical composition of various plastic goods. They also introduced key time points, like the US wide adoption of plastic bags in grocery stores and when the first plastics policies, US and globally, were enacted. A crucial aspect of this book that our group struggled with was the connection to the topic of plastics, and a general narrative that would keep the reader invested through to the end. Additionally, we found that the authors would both over and under explain concepts, then move on to the next subject without connecting the information together. For example, in chapter 3 the authors discuss the ways that plastic waste is managed; within this chapter is a section on composting. Here the authors discuss the process of how microbial colonies breakdown carbon-based materials. “Just like us, microbes feed on carbon-based material for energy; they need moisture (water), and if they are aerobic, they respire oxygen.”[1]. Here the authors define what moisture is but not aerobic respiration. I’d argue that any person who has watched or read a weather report can deduce what moisture means, but the public would struggle with aerobic respiration and its relevance to the composting process.
Despite our group being committed to better understating plastics, we found ourselves discussing how the book could improve, rather than how plastics are impacting our daily lives and the policy ideas that could solve some of the most demanding plastic problems. Areas of the book that we felt could greatly be expanded upon are the final chapters of the book: ‘Plastic Policies’ and ‘Alternatives and Interventions for Plastics’.
During the 1970s, the United States and the world, began to use plastic grocery bags and by the end of the 1980s plastic bags were the norm. Due to the rapid global use of plastic bags, some of the first plastic policies are in response to plastic bag use and consumption. The first plastic bag tax was implemented by Denmark in 1994 and the first country to impose a plastic bag ban was Bangladesh in 2002. The US, however, has no such national plastic bag tax or ban—though several US states do have either plastic bag bans or a fee. The only national US policy regarding plastic bans is the use of plastic microbeads in cosmetic products, which was shown to directly put microplastics in the water ways. Not all countries, or even continents are as relaxed on plastic regulations as the US. Kenya possesses the highest penalties for possessing or using plastic bags: up to 4 years in prison and a $40,000 fine. Sub-Sahara Africa is the global leader in plastic bag policies with an impressive 31 bans.
Lack of Narrative and How It Does a Disservice to The Public
Why is narrative important, and what does it have to do with effective science communication and science policy? Humans tell stories. Before written language, all generational knowledge was passed down orally. We are ingrained to listen to stories, to connect with people, objects, and the world around us through narrative. Story telling is just as important when trying to convey complex scientific information. It is improbable that anyone will care about the plastic problem if the audience is bombarded with the chemical compounds that make up plastic, and the nitty gritty details of how plastic is decomposed into micro- and nano-plastics.
Dear reader,
I leave you with this, my shortened version of Plastics: The Life and Death of the Humble Lawn Chair.
Plastics have an unexpected origin. Not cooked up in a lab, but with the decay of ancient plant matter and decomposed dinosaurs becoming fossil fuels. Maybe, like me, the only thing that comes to mind when discussing fossil fuels is the production of crude oil and the eventual refinement into the gasoline that powered hundreds of thousands of cars this morning. Turns out that one product of crude oil refinement produces the starting material of plastic.
This is where our humble lawn chair begins. A specialized crude oil refinement process generates small, sand-sized grains of polymers (think of these like a chain of Legos that can later be clicked together). These grains of sand are then turned into little plastic pellets.
Let me take you back to the 1950’s, the boom of plastic products are taking over the average household, replacing wooden, metal, paper, and glass household goods. Here, we see our lawn chair take shape. A designer working for Sears wants to introduce a lawn chair made of this new and exciting product, plastic. They design a colorful, rainbow striped chair that is sure to fly off the shelves. This designer sends their design off to plastics engineers to produce the plastic and assembly of our lawn chair.
These plastic engineers take the polymer pellets and melt them together, combining various types of polymer pellets to form the final plastic that will make our lawn chair. Our plastic is now flexible and in all colors of the rainbow. This plastic is sent to assembly and turned into our final lawn chair. The Sears designer sees their vision come to life and orders thousands of chairs to fill the shelves across the country.
Now enters Carol, shopping at Sears looking for the newest in summer outdoor furniture. Carol, being fashion forward, sees our rainbow lawn chair and immediately knows that it will be the hit of her summer pool parties. Our chair has found a home! After a wonderful summer, our chair has been well loved. Now sun-bleached and no longer its vibrant rainbow hue, Carol throws our chair away. Afterall, Sears is sure to come out with a fabulous new chair for next summer.
Our chair now makes its way to its final resting place: the landfill. 60 years go by, and our lawn chair begins to break down. Returning to its beginning state of small grains of polymers. These small grains are carried by rainfall to the nearby river which eventually leads to the Pacific Ocean. Along the way, these polymers are eaten by fish and other marine wildlife. These fish, with bellies full of plastic, are then eaten by even larger fish and birds. Now there are entire ecosystems with plastic in their bellies and habitats, rapidly dying due to their bodies being unable to process their plastic dinners.
Seventy years after Carol buys our lawn chair, our hindsight is 2020. We needed to have policies and practices that regulated how we make, use, and dispose of plastic. So, what can we do now? I’ll remind you of an adage with a twist, “Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. Policy”. There must be some middle ground between the US’ relaxed plastic policy and the severe 4-year prison sentence in Kenya. I think the following are good places to start:
- Pick a plastic. One component that makes plastic difficult to recycle and turn into new products is the composition of various plastic goods. These mixed plastic items, like winter coats, make sorting the plastic components labor intensive and not worth the cost compared to making more coats. We should fund studies that determine the plastic materials that can easily be broken down from one form and turned into another. Simply put, the fewer plastic starting materials we use, the easier and more efficient recycling will become. From here, we impose policy initiatives that ban the use of the difficult to recycle plastic components, federally mandate that the only plastic starting material must be those deemed to be recyclable and enforce penalties on corporations that do not comply.
- Infrastructure. Develop an infrastructure bill that builds recycling plants that are dedicated to recycling the chosen plastics as well as the volume of materials.
- Management. Manage plastics currently in use and in the landfills. While there is not much that we can do about the unrecyclable plastics that are already out there, what we can do is ensure that they have a minimal impact on the environment, wildlife, and human health. We need to develop containment methods to prevent the leaching of microplastics into waterways and further contamination on land.
In conclusion there is still plenty of work to be done when it comes to the regulation and reuse of plastic products. However, many countries around the globe are making the effort to implement policy to make these plastic reduction goals a reality. There is still hope, as informed citizens, we now need to push our legislative bodies to care about plastic waste, production and reuse.
References
1. Walker-Franklin, I. and J. Jambeck, Plastics. The MIT press essential knowledge series. 2023, Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press.