Description

Investigate what sorts of pollution including textile fibres are found in BC waters as well as where it can travel around the globe.

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Task

Explore the pollution tracker website and identify what sorts of plastics and pollution you find around BC coastlines with the interactive map.

Where could these contaminants go? Refresh your mind on ocean currents, gyres and plastic pollution with this Ocean Wise Brain Waves Episode:

Now use Windy's wind and wave settings to visualize where pollution such as textile fibres from your community as well as all of BC could travel. Try finding a few sampling sites from the pollution tracker in Windy and see where that water could travel or collect.

Finally, look into Return-It BC's textile recycling program and then discuss as a class or in groups the following:

• What detrimental environmental impacts could textiles in waste create?
• What areas of the world do you think BC pollutants are likely to travel to?
• Find ocean gyres where these pollutants such as plastic and fibres may collect?
• What impacts could Return-It BC's textile recycling program have on the local environment? Globally?
• How ways does your household deal with unwanted textiles? What other behaviours could your household and/or community adopt?

In the discussion thread share:

1. Your most interesting finding from the pollution tracker interactive map.
2. The most likely sampling site that your communities pollution would end up contaminating.
3. At least one way your household currently uses the four R's with textiles.
4. At least one new behaviour your household and/or community can adopt to further mitigate textile waste and pollution.

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Continue to 3C. Design Thinking Product Challenge »