The Burden of Plastic Generation

Abstract: Plastic pollution is not a new thing, not a new thing at all. Actually, concern about plastic had been growing date back to 1960s, almost 60 years ago, when the plastic debris in the ocean was first observed, but now the global plastic production is still increasing, as well as the amount of the plastic waste that enters the ocean every year. I knew about plastic pollution since I was a kid -people talked about it, and it was also on the textbook from school, but just like many other kids, I didn't really care, not until I saw those pictures of seabirds and marine life that are hurt or killed by plastic pieces, which shocked me and make me realize how bad the situation really is. Therefore, I felt the obligation to do something about it, to send out the message to more people, especially the younger ones, to help them see it through earlier, not like me, and deeper, and be a part of the solution, which might not be perfect, and takes a lot of time, but it has to start now, one step after another. So my master degree project is my attempt to be one of the tiny little steps of our solution to plastic pollution. In this report, I will share my research about micro-plastic, treatments for plastic waste, the alternative of plastic, recycling system and its lies, the market of plastic toy and its influence, as well as some existing attempt of the eco-toy and educational toy. Also, I will talk about how my perspective changed throughout my research process and what changed my mind. It also documented my visit to precious plastic Malmo and my interview of some young parents about their kids' toys, in additional, a history study about the progress of some similar environmental problems. Then, I will show you the ideation process of my educational serial comic about plastic pollution and the modular eco-toy figure concept and how I developed them. In the end, it is the document of the result of my work and the discussion as well as the reference. This project is against plastic pollution, not the material itself.