Plastic Brain Freeze

BELL RINGS

# Oh, I do love to compost and recycle... #

That's it, Colin.

Just a few hours left to reach this year's recycling target.

Almost there!

MACHINE PARPS

Ew, what's that smell?

-Good morning, everyone.

-There you are, McCork.

-All set to film our big campaign video later?

-Shh.

That's top secret, remember?

What's going on here?

BELL RINGS Positions, everyone!

This is Brain Freeze!

-Stand by!

-Come on, everybody!

-BOTH: It's time for...

-Today's Big Question.

Today we're asking, "How much plastic is in the ocean?"

Every year we produce 300 million tonnes of plastic.

That's almost the same weight as all the people in the world combined.

Of this, only 5% is recycled, and nearly half is used only once,

then thrown away.

Oh, that's awful. Where does it all go?

A lot of it ends up in our oceans.

Each year, plastic is estimated to kill over a million sea birds,

and 100,000 marine mammals and turtles.

Bleurgh!

If only there was another way...

Hey, wait! See you after the break.

Ready, McCork? Lights, camera, action.

Do you sometimes wish you could do more for the environment?

Sign up for Professor McCork's ten-day underpants challenge.

Go for ten days straight without changing your drawers and

watch your carbon footprint shrink faster than your circle of friends.

Go on, eco-warriors, keep those pants on!

PARP

That's a wrap, McCork. This is going to be huge!

Uh, I think you might be missing one crucial thing.

-What, was my hair a mess?

-No, the smell!

Oh, dear. That's not good.

BELL RINGS

Positions everyone!

I'm almost afraid to ask, Dr Knowles,

but how much plastic is in the ocean?

There are nearly 270,000 tonnes of plastic floating in the

-world's oceans.

-That's the same weight as 36,000 elephants.

A lot of this plastic may never disappear,

and will only break down into very tiny pieces called

microplastics, which can contain toxic chemicals that may then

-find their way into the human food chain.

-Bleurgh!

Oh, no. And what can we do about it,

apart from not changing our undercrackers, obviously?

Scientists are developing ways to remove some of this plastic

from the oceans.

But the biggest responsibility lies with us. Remember the three Rs.

-Reduce, Reuse...

-And always Recycle.

-You said it, stinky.

-Mm-hm.

See you next time!

Oh, crumpets. We've recycled everything,

and we've still not reached our target.

No thanks to those two and their silly campaign.

Well, actually, it's, um, postponed.

Couple of problems with...the science.

Well, at least the smell has gone.

And I can finally get rid of these fellas.

MACHINE BURPS

No! You can't recycle those!

MACHINE RUMBLES

-I guess every little does help.

-We did it.

And all thanks to McCork and his eco-pants!

Well, I don't know about you lot,

but I'm ready for the next challenge.

It's not easy being green!

The ten day underpants

challenge is a fictional campaign

and should not be attempted in the

real world.

Not changing your

underpants for ten days is not

a good idea and should be

avoided at all costs.

No underpants were harmed in the

making of this show.