Water Wheel Sept 2021: Pollution And The Environment

Abstract

Not so fantastic plastic – What the latest research says about plastic pollution in SA environment Film lovers of a certain age will remember the funny-sad The Graduate for its awkward hero (a young Dustin Hoffman in the title role), the older woman (Anne Bancroft) who seduces him, and its Simon & Garfunkel soundtrack, which includes the hauntingly beautiful, The Sounds of Silence. Less celebrated, but rich in comedy value, is a scene from the film where a family friend corners Hoffman’s character at his graduation party to share some career advice. “I want to say one word to you, just one word,” says friend to hero, “are you listening: Plastics. There is a great future in plastics. Think about it, will ya.” Already, back then (the film first screened in 1967) plastic had become a byword for much that was wrong with society… sterile, mass produced and ugly. A generation later, it’s safe to say that many of us, like Hoffman’s character, have grown disaffected with the polymer products that crowd our lives.

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