When plastic companies write the lesson plans
The plastics industry is offering schools curricula that cast plastics as safe, recyclable, and a source of good jobs. Critics say it’s propaganda.
As K-12 students across the United States return to school for another academic year, they will also encounter a new subject in their curriculum: plastics. A report from the Plastic Pollution Coalition reveals the significant influence of the plastics industry on school curricula. The coalition's findings document how the industry has been inserting its agenda into classrooms through lesson plans, worksheets, hands-on science experiments, and a mobile program called "PlastiVan."
The industry offers these resources to teachers for free or at a low cost, with the aim of highlighting the importance of plastics while downplaying their negative impacts on human health and the environment. According to Madison Dennis, senior policy and advocacy manager for the Plastic Pollution Coalition, these materials obfuscate the true consequences of plastic pollution.
The report presents four case studies illustrating the extent of the plastics industry's influence on school curricula. One case involves the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE), which recently became a division of the Plastics Industry Association. SPE's lesson plans include activities such as a "plastic scavenger hunt," which aims to teach students the ubiquity and importance of plastics in society.
Another case study highlights the American Association of Chemistry Teachers, an initiative of the Dow Chemical Company. This organization provides lesson plans on comparing the strength of various plastic bags, ultimately inviting students to design a plastic bag for a customer.
The plastics industry's materials often claim to support STEM learning objectives while promoting familiar industry talking points. They emphasize the affordability and safety of plastics, acknowledging plastic pollution as a problem but proposing recycling as the primary solution. However, only 9 percent of plastics are recycled worldwide, and recycling cannot keep up with the projected growth in plastic production.
Critics argue that these industry-sponsored materials do not adhere to good pedagogy and instead promote ideological perspectives about the economy, such as the desirability of cheap consumer goods. Wendy Johnson, a science education specialist at the National Center for Science Education, explains that the materials trick students into thinking they are learning science by using technical terms that conceal the true nature of the content.
The issue of plastics propaganda in schools is not new, with evidence dating back to the 2000s. For instance, a plastics trade group successfully lobbied the California Department of Education to include a section on "The Advantages of Shopping Bags" in high school textbooks between 2009 and 2011. The PlastiVan initiative has been ongoing since 2011, reaching over 132,000 students so far.
The Plastic Pollution Coalition calls for stricter school policies against the use of industry-sponsored learning materials. The problem appears to be particularly significant in schools located near petrochemical facilities. For example, Shell, a major petrochemical company, operates a 386-acre plastics production complex in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, and has invested in plastics-related curricula and recycling programs for local schools.
However, both the PlastiVan initiative and the mentioned organizations did not respond to Grist's request for comment.
Written by urgent.news from Grist's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
