Plastic is ubiquitous. It is in our food, in our water, and in our clothes. It is coursing through our blood and clogging our lungs and bowels. It soils our earth, pollutes our water systems, and leaks toxins into our air. Plastic is global– and so are its catastrophic consequences. Whether we like it or not, we live in a world where we are both dependent on and destroyed by plastic. 

A group of DePaul students gathered last week to tackle this very question. Outside of the lecture room, the air was unusually warm, despite the city’s turmoil with rain and snow over the weekend. The weather was certainly extreme, and the students knew it. The heat of the climate conversation was palpable and pressing—and all eyes were on plastic. 

The group based their discussion off a screening of the 2019 film “The Story of Plastic.” The documentary, made by Deia Schlosberg, is a staggering exposure of the calculated corruption within the plastic and oil industry. Through the lens of professionals and activists around the world, viewers learn how clever advertising and transparent communication from these corporations have led us to our current plastic crisis. 

“When we buy plastic, we don’t really think about where it goes or where it comes from,” said Laura Murphy, a senior at DePaul who attended the event. “It’s just this invisible product. And learning about it is… terrifying.”

The plastic problem is only approached through pollution, not production. The documentary emphasizes that while the media stays focused on the end product, no one talks about who, and where all this plastic is coming from. “The Story of Plastic” digs at the root of the issue by explaining how plastic’s process can be just as concerning for our environment as the material itself.

According to the film, plastic is made from materials in oil and gas pockets in the ground. To extract them, big companies use fracking and drilling methods that pollute nearby communities and harm the Earth. The natural gas is then fed to production facilities in pipelines that not only tear through property but serve as a safety hazard for surrounding communities. 

Additionally, when plastic is actually produced, the facilities that make plastic emit toxic gasses and chemicals into the air that sickens nearby citizens. At one waste plant in Delhi, India, a dairy farmer informs the viewers that the life expectancy in the community is 15-20 years lower because of these chemicals. 

The documentary explains that corporations will mislead these communities by positioning themselves as a helpful management service. But it is because of their pollution in the community, cancer is common, and sickness is no stranger. Therefore, plastic only prospers when others bear the brunt of it. 

But incinerated plastic is only a portion of the problem. According to the film, only 14% of plastic packaging is burned. 40% sit in a landfill, 32% litter the environment, 14% of it is recycled, and 2% of it is effectively recycled —meaning it becomes more useful than what it was before.

After the screening of the film, I asked the students how they felt. 

“I was uncomfortable honestly,” said DePaul Senior Liberty Kempf, “but also it’s so informative and films like these need to be seen.” 

The discussion that followed was led by Barbara Willard, an associate professor of communication and media studies at DePaul. In the conversation, two things remained clear: plastic’s consequences are catastrophic and corrections need to be made within the corporations. 

Students said that legislative power can make these companies accountable for their destructive actions. They agreed that pushing for the right legislation can finally dissolve the power that the plastic industry has used against the planet. 

“Plastic is permanent. It’s going to outlive all of us,”  Kempf said. “Change starts now. Change starts with every single person.”

Kempf pointed out a metaphor the film used for fighting the climate crisis that really resonated with her. She refers to a bathtub that is filled with water by a running tap. To empty the overflowing tub, a person works tirelessly with a spoon to scoop out small amounts of water.

The spoon refers to our individual actions: recycling, eliminating waste, etc. Our actions are objectively helpful—after all, we are getting some water out of the tub—but they are small and insignificant in the grand scheme of problem-solving. The real change begins when we put pressure on the forces creating the issue in the first place. The real change begins when we turn off the running tap. When we limit the corporation’s power to poison and pollute, we begin to attack the plastic crisis once and for all. 

“We all have the power to do something,”  Murphy said, “and that starts with realizing that we’re a part of this change. It affects us all.”