Addicted To Plastic

By now, most people connected to the wonderful world of trends, fads and incidental plights will have heard about the evils of plastic water bottles and their emission of toxins and hormones into the human body. If not, they will have at least noticed the increase in aluminium bottles amongst eco-conscious urbanites or the nascent nickel surcharge for plastic bags when shopping. It's just one of many global crises but, as pointed out in Ian Connacher's absorbing documentary, it has some potential solutions. Throughout his two-year, 12-country trek around the world to investigate the plastic vexation, Connacher learns of large garbage patches in the ocean, the impact that a "throw away" culture will have on heavily populated areas post-globalization, the toxins attracted to plastic and some of the recycling efforts that creative, enviro-conscious entrepreneurs are taking. One of the more interesting titbits of information in Addicted to Plastic is that in more densely polluted areas of the ocean plastic outweighs plankton ten to one, resulting in excess consumption of plastic pellets by fish and birds. The problem here is that the pellets are a magnet for PCBs, DDEs and Nonylphenols, which have been linked to hormonal and developmental imbalances. Also included in the documentary are interviews with experts, environmentalists and plastics advocates, providing context for the problem, in addition to many possible solutions. This all-encompassing view is what makes the doc work, as it doesn't just preach the evils of plastic but examines a culture that embraced the substance in the first place and offers advice on where to go from here. It also manages to maintain a sunny disposition throughout, keeping a sense of humour despite the fact that it's a doc implying potential doom. No special features are included, aside from the option of watching the film in French.