from green galactic

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LOS ANGELES, CA – Award-winning film Bag It, a touching and often funny documentary about how we use and abuse plastic, is set to air nationally on public television during Earth Week starting April 17, 2011. The film, by award-winning director Suzan Beraza, is an eye-opening look at the environmental and health dangers posed by the global use of disposable, non-biodegradable plastic products. Told with wit and humor, Bag It follows “everyman” Jeb Berrier as he embarks on a global tour to unravel the complexities of our plastic world. To learn more about the film, please visit http://www.bagitmovie.com.

The filmmakers have a lot planned for Bag It during Earth Month, Earth Week, and Earth Day: For screening schedule click here.

Synopsis:

Produced by Reel Thing Productions in association with the Telluride Institute, Bag It is a powerful look at the impacts of plastics on society. The film focuses on plastic as it relates to our throwaway mentality, our culture of convenience, our over consumption of unnecessary, disposable products and packaging – things that we use one time and then, without another thought, throw them away. But where is AWAY?? Away is over flowing landfills, clogged rivers, islands of trash in our oceans, and even our very own toxic bodies.

Jeb is not a radical environmentalist, but an average individual who decides to take a closer look at the world’s love affair with plastics. What he discovers is shocking. The average American uses between 330 – 500 plastic bags a year for an average of 12 minutes before they are discarded (that adds up to about 100-150 BILLION plastic bags used in 2010 in the US alone). There is a floating “island” of plastic and other debris swirling around in the Pacific Ocean known as the ‘Great Pacific Garbage Patch.’ Unlike most other trash, plastic isn’t biodegradable. Sunlight does eventually “photodegrade” the bonds in plastic polymers, reducing it to smaller and smaller pieces, but it never goes away entirely. And the levels of plastic debris in the Pacific Ocean – much of it resembling plankton, i.e., fish food – has at least tripled in the last ten years resulting in plastic entering into our food chain.*

When Jeb discovers that he and his partner are expecting a child, his plastic odyssey becomes a truly personal one. How can they protect their baby from the health dangers associated with plastics? Jeb looks beyond single-use disposable plastics and discovers that virtually everything in modern society – from baby bottles, to sports equipment, to dental sealants, to personal care products – is either made with plastic or contains potentially harmful chemical additives used in the plastic-making process.

Featuring interviews with scientists and experts from around the world, Bag It is a first-person documentary in the style of Michael Moore, asking how we can incorporate healthy, more environmentally friendly practices into our lives, our cultures, and our communities.

“I didn’t expect a movie about plastic bags to change my life in such a deep and profound way. Gripping, funny, intelligent, and sure to change your life.”

– Louie Psihoyos, Director of The Cove

For more info on the film visit: http://www.bagitmovie.com