VERDE Video Targets Plastic Bag Usage

Just around Halloween, VERDE released a video documenting Poly’s Recycling Journey. Poly is a polyethylene (plastic) bag in search of a home. Through the short, animated video, viewers learn about the haunted and hazardous lifecycle of a plastic bag.

VERDE created this video as part of its Green Media, a section of the company that educates residents on behalf of its clients. Most people believe that plastic bags belong in the recycle bin, but they don’t—and they don’t belong in the trash either. After watching Poly’s journey, the expectation is that the client’s target audience will understand the importance of taking plastic bags back to the grocery store for recycling, or better yet, upgrading to a reusable bag.

According to data released by the United States Environmental Protection Agency in 2001, somewhere between 500 billion and a trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide each year. Some make it to the landfill, but others make their way into the sea via storm drains and rivers or into the mouths of innocent animals. And even if you cannot see the harm that a plastic bag is causing, over time they break down into smaller, more toxic petro-polymers that end up in the food chain.

During the video, after Poly makes it back “home” to the grocery store most viewers will expect him to be happy. But he can’t be, knowing that he will take the same ghostly journey over and over with the fear of not making it back and being properly recycled.

Check out VERDE’s video: