PET Plastic Problem Photographs 

CHRIS JORDAN / Photographer 1jan2007

Mindfully.org note: The following six photographs by Chris Jordan* illustrate the size of the problems that humans have made with single-use containers. If all single-use containers were recycled, it would not manage the problem, and it would be quite far from a complete solution. Mindfully.org believes that single-use containers must be banned, regardless of the type of materials — plastic, metal, paper and glass. The oceans have more plastic in them than zooplankton, which is the food of many animals. There is 6 times more plastic floating in the middle of the Pacific Ocean than zooplankton by weight. That floating plastic does more than choke and starve the animals to death. It also causes a wide range of physical and mental problems from the disruption of their endocrine systems to cancer. In 2005, the City of San Francisco could have saved over $300 million by using reusable bags at the supermarket. If the plastic bags that the San Francisco Chronicle gets delivered in within just 1 year were piled onto a football field. . . How high would that pile be? And how much would they weigh?    They would cover a football field (300' x 160') up to 3'6" high in just one year. And that football field of bags would weigh 25,615 pounds.

Plastic Bottles, 2007
60x120" (5'x10')

Depicts two million plastic beverage bottles, the number used in the US every five minutes.

Partial zoom:

Detail at actual size:

Plastic Bags, 2007
60x72" (5'x6')

Depicts 60,000 plastic bags, the number used in the US every five seconds.

Partial zoom:

Detail at actual size:

For more, please go to chris jordan photographic arts