Jeb Berrier is overwhelmed by plastic bags.
The Sustainability Division and Students of Sustainability are sponsoring the showing of the documentary “Bag It” on Wednesday, Feb. 5, at 6:30 p.m. in Watson Theater. The event is free and open to the public.
“Bag It” follows “everyman” Jeb Berrier as he tries to make sense of our dependence on plastic bags. Although his quest starts out small, Berrier 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 12 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 screening of “Bag It” is meant to promote recycling and the safe tap water available to the campus community. There is an abundance of plastic bottles in the campus waste stream that can be decreased through recycling.
For more information about sustainability at SU, visit the SU Sustainability website, follow @SustainableSU on Twitter and check out the Syracuse University Sustainability Facebook page.
Emily Pompelia is a work-study student in the Office of News Services.
