The Earth Care Team at First Presbyterian of Urbana is offering a seminar series on plastics. Plastic packages our toothpaste and our breakfast cereal, wraps our lunchtime sandwich and the foods that comprise our evening meal. Researchers report that by the time a 2.2-pound portion of fish reaches our dining room table, its processing, shipping, and packaging has generated about 2.5 pounds of plastic waste. Contrary to public perception, little of this waste is recycled. Instead it clutters roadsides, landfills, water streams, and the ocean.
Sessions begin at 10:45 a.m at the First Presbyterian Church of Urbana (602 W Green Street). Enter through the double doors on Orchard Street. Two filter boxes ventilate the chapel, and masking is required.
Sunday, October 23: “Advances in the Engineering of Sustainable Plastics,” presented by Nicholas Macke and Sam Marsden, University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering.
Sunday, October 30: “Art to Save the Ocean,” presented by Brad Parks, Director of Conservation Education at Washed Ashore in Bandon, Oregon. This not-for-profit uses plastic debris gathered from Oregon beaches to create and exhibit aesthetically powerful art to educate a global audience about the plastics crisis and steps we can take to end it.
Sunday, November 6: “Plastics Recycling in Urbana-Champaign and Illinois,” presented by Susan Monte, Executive Director of the Champaign County Environmental Stewards. Ms. Monte will talk about actual recycling of curbside-collected plastics in Champaign and Urbana, the impacts of contamination specific to plastics recycling that local waste haulers address, and available information regarding future trends about plastics recycling. Ms. Monte retired in June as the Champaign County Recycling Coordinator, and she was recently honored with the Steven Apotheker Award by the Illinois Recycling Foundation.