In celebration of Earth Day, the Princeton Environmental Film Festival presents a virtual screening of "The Story of Plastic" and a post-screening Q&A with the director, Deia Schlosberg on April 24.

"The Story of Plastic" will be screened on the Discovery Channel on at 2 p.m. on April 22.

The film is also currently available to stream on the Discovery GO app.

For those who don't have access to the Discovery Channel, or aren't available to watch at that time, we can share a private viewing link that will be good for viewing until April 24.

You must REGISTER through the library for this event if you would like the link.

We will be hosting a post-screening Q&A with Deia Schlosberg on April 24 at 7 p.m. via Crowdcast.

"The Story of Plastic" shines a light on the environmental damage and human rights abuses that occur throughout the entire life cycle of plastic – not just once it’s disposed of. The messaging around plastic has for decades been controlled by the plastic producers, who have deliberately focused on plastic waste. The film reveals how the plastics industry is simultaneously blaming wasteful consumers for plastic pollution and aggressively investing to produce more single-use plastic than ever before. Reclaiming the narrative, the film highlights that while cleanup is important to understanding the situation, the real solution lies in stopping the mass production of plastic in the first place.  “The plastic crisis doesn’t start when the plastics enter the ocean. It starts when the oil and the gas leave the wellhead, and it keeps on being a problem at every step along the way,” says film subject Carroll Muffett of Center for International Environmental Law.

Beyond illuminating the nature of the crisis, THE STORY OF PLASTIC spotlights the global resistance and network of every-day heroes working internationally to combat this urgent problem, including Capt. Charlie Moore (Algalita Marine Research & Education) who discovered the North Pacific Garbage Patch,  Ellen and Elise Gerhart of Pennsylvania who protested the construction of a fracked gas pipeline through their family’s property, and Yvette Arellano (Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services), who supports communities sitting at the fence-line of the petrochemical corridor along the gulf coast.

The Story of Plastic forcefully identifies a pressing global challenge first identified around 15 years ago.  The film highlights how the actions of one group can affect not only their world but the world of their neighbors on the other side of the globe.  As activist Shibu K. Nahir explains, “Look at our globe: it’s a water world… So if you imagine that we are in a womb filled with water, whatever I do here is going to affect every single life form in this earth… Whether a person in Europe or in US or in India or in Africa or in Philippines or in Indonesia, it’s a life… We need to bring in that kind of a spirit of unity across boundaries, because these toxins do not understand political boundaries.”

Discovery Channel presents "The Story of Plastic," presented by The Story Of Stuff Project in association with React To Film; original music by Mike McCready (Pearl Jam) and Cody Westheimer; directed by Deia Schlosberg; produced by Kyle Cadotte, Megan Ponder and Stiv Wilson; co-executive producers, Dianna Cohen, Jackson Browne, and Seven McDonald; Executive Produced by Stiv Wilson, Coralie Charriol-Paul & Dennis Paul, and Michael O’Heaney.

PEFF: The Story of Plastic Post screening Q&A