[Greenpeace together with the Break Free From Plastic coalition conducted a beach cleanup activity and plastics brand audit on Freedom Island, Philippines in 2017. © Daniel Müller / Greenpeace] Whenever I think of our problems with plastic, I think of the story of the Sorcerer’s Apprentice – how a really good idea turned into a nightmare. If you don’t know the story, the Master Sorcerer tells his Apprentice to clean up the workshop while he goes out for the day. The Apprentice has just enough knowledge to make the broom do it and he commands it to fetch water to wash the floor. Unfortunately he can’t remember the magic spell to stop it and the broom fetches more and more water until the place is flooded. The Master is not pleased when he comes home, but the Apprentice certainly is. How we got here It’s hard to imagine now how little plastic there was when my sister and I were growing up in the 1950s. Our first encounter with modern plastics came in the form o...
Practising Geographer - nature culture places people