Addicted to Plastic

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Originally uploaded by Gavatron

There's no doubt our society has a major addiction to plastic - and not just the credit card variety. As I look around me at work I see plastic phones, plastic TVs, plastic pens and a plastic calculator and stapler. However, what I don't have on my desk is a plastic water bottle, and I have cut the plastic bag habit by more than half. These are but a few of the small things I can do to curb my own personal addiction to plastic. Fortunately other Torontonians are realizing that we can break this dependence, and filmmakers like Ian Connacher are too.

Tonight, Addicted to Plastic, an intriguing documentary directed by Connacher and edited by my talented friend and co-worker Gad Reichman, plays at the Royal Cinema on College at 7PM as part of the Planet in Focus Film Festival. The film premiered at VIFF to a sold-out audience which included the enviro-guru himself, David Suzuki.

If you too have a predilection for plastic, and a curiosity for where it comes from and where it goes, I think you'll be amazed to see some of the film's images, the most incredible of which is a floating island of plastic waste, double the size of Texas, which bears the elusive name The North Pacific gyre.