Plastic Tree

Plastic Tree 

            About a month ago, I participated in FoLAR’s (Friendships of the Los Angeles River) river cleanup. Once I saw the river from afar, I noticed that there was not much trash, but not until I actually encountered the river was when I noticed I was wrong. As I was picking up trash, I did not realize how much waste was found here: Flamin’ Hot Cheetos bags, straw wrappers, broken glass, plastic bags, and many more. Everywhere I went to go pick up the trash, I cannot help but notice that there were countless amounts of plastic bags wrapped around the majority of the trees. My art project consists of a cardboard (which represents the soil), a toilet paper roll (which represents the trunk), and plastic bags (which represents the branches and leaves) because these specific types of litter were the most abundant in the river. I chose to include these particular trash because it depicts the plastic bags that were stuck on the trees. The plastic bags were intertwined and trapped in the trees. It was as though the plastic was glued to the trees; it was nearly impossible to remove it from the trees. From my art project, I hope to inform and alert the public that by not recycling and littering plastic bags are severely harming our environment. Since plastic bags are not biodegradable, the plastic bags take a very long time to break down (about 400-1,000 years), but when it does break down, it contaminates the soil. The contamination prevents the trees from growing. Since the trees cannot grow properly, they cannot produce the oxygen we, humans, breathe. The litter of plastic bags shows how lazy people are to dispose it in a garbage can or even recycle. Plastic bags fly around from beaches to allies to freeways to the ocean. People see the plastic bags, but they are too lazy to pick them up. Not only do plastic bags affect plants and trees, but the animals in the ocean as well. Eventually the plastic bags find its way into the ocean, which affects and harms the organisms living in this environment (such as fishes, birds, sea turtles, and other sea animals) making them think that plastic bags are food but in reality its harmful for them. Also, when the plastic bags do eventually break down, it pollutes the ocean. Both of these harmful factors of plastic bags reaching the ocean cause these creatures to suffer and die. When people see my art, I want them to understand that plastic bags are more harmful than they think. Hopefully my art project will help people to think twice before littering plastic bags to help the environment by doing something simple like recycling or disposing it in a trashcan. If everyone picks up at least one plastic bag, it can create a positive impact for the environment and ocean.