Is your life too plastic? Tim Silverwood asks you the question tomorrow night
Environmentalist and co-founder of ‘Take 3’, Tim Silverwood will host a screening of the award-winning environmental documentary “Bag It” tomorrow night (Thurs 16 June) at the Byron Bay Community Centre from 7pm.
“Bag It” follows “everyman” Jeb Berrier as he tries to make sense of our dependence on plastic bags. Although his quest starts out small, Jeb soon learns that the problem extends past landfills to oceans, rivers and ultimately human health.
The average American uses about 500 plastic bags each year, for about twelve minutes each. This single-use mentality has led to the formation of a floating island of plastic debris in the Pacific Ocean more than twice the size of Texas.
The film explores these issues and identifies how our daily reliance on plastic threatens not only waterways and marine life, but human health, too. Two of the most common plastic additives are endocrine disruptors, which have been shown to link to cancer, diabetes, autism, attention deficit disorder, obesity and infertility.
The screenings of the new documentary aim to raise awareness of marine debris and will act as fundraisers for Tim, who in July this year will sail from Hawaii to Vancouver to research plastic pollution in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Tim will join Algalita Marine Research Foundation, a California-based organisation founded by Charles Moore, the man credited with discovering the Garbage Patch in 1997.
Tim is required to fundraise US$10,000 for his position on the research voyage. He hopes to raise more for additional costs including flights, equipment and the production of an awareness documentary. Using an online fundraising campaign portal Tim has already raised more than AU$4000 in just 30 days. He is also seeking corporate sponsorship.
‘Take 3’ is a non-profit organisation formed in 2009 that asks visitors to beaches and waterways to simply take three pieces of plastic rubbish with them when they leave, a small gesture that can greatly reduce the amount of marine debris in the oceans.
“We developed ‘Take 3’ to give people an easy opportunity to give back to the environment by reducing plastic pollution in our oceans. It’s so easy to ‘Take 3’; it doesn’t take time, money or any real effort. This documentary puts humans’ dependence on plastic in the spotlight and empowers people to stand up and say, “You know what, I don’t want to live a life plastic”, it’s a great film!” Tim said.
If you want to make a change, come along tomorrow night (Byron Community Centre, 7pm) and see this incredible film for yourself. You can get your tickets here. Envirosax are giving a re-usable designer bag valued at around $12 free to everyone who shows up!
Their will also be a raffle tomorrow night with a $50 voucher from The Balcony restaurant, an awesome artwork/ print and a hand made designer Surfboard cover from Real Graphic Design in Byron, plus a $180 voucher from Byron Bay Boot Camp to add to a Stone & Wood pack of shirt, cap and beer voucher (valued at $80)!!