Plastic

A collection of TED Talks (and more) on the topic of Plastic.

Video playlists about Plastic

Sustainability by design

Humans are builders and creators—but how can we build thoughtfully, without waste? These talks explore sustainable design—both past and present—and its beautiful, inspiring results.

Talks about Plastic

Shannon Odell

Confused about recycling? It’s not your fault

Steve Presley

Can global food companies make the shift to regenerative agriculture?

Patricia Villarrubia-Gómez

The problem with plastics -- and how they're changing the environment

Tierney Thys and Christian Sardet

Meet the microbes that could eat your trash

Luka Seamus Wright and Imogen Ellen Napper

Which bag should you use?

TED-Ed

A brief history of plastic

Alejandro Durán

How I use art to tackle plastic pollution in our oceans

Mani Vajipey

How India's local recyclers could solve plastic pollution

Andrew Forrest

A radical plan to end plastic waste

Haaziq Kazi

A 13-year-old's plan for removing plastic from the oceans

Morgan Vague

These bacteria eat plastic

Andrew Dent

To eliminate waste, we need to rediscover thrift

David Katz

The surprising solution to ocean plastic

Natalie Fee

Plastic pollution, our toilets and us

Paul Tasner

How I became an entrepreneur at 66

Jeff Kirschner

This app makes it fun to pick up litter

See all talks on Plastic

Exclusive articles about Plastic

Glitter is plastic in disguise, plus 4 more reasons to skip the shiny stuff

From wrapping paper and greeting cards to party favors and ornaments, millions of everyday items sparkle due to glitter. And while these shimmering objects are festive and eye-catching, they're harming our planet and contributing to climate change. Environmental science researcher Claire Gwinnett PhD explains how.

Posted Nov 2021

Millions of tons of plastic are trashed every year. But what if we used it to pave our roads?

In fact, just one kilometer of road paved with a plastic blend can contain the equivalent of nearly 750,000 plastic bags! Science journalist Ann Parson looks at the possibilities -- and pitfalls -- of this creative solution.

Posted Jun 2021

What plastic item would you love to ban? 15 ocean experts (and TED speakers) tell us.

Yes, plastic straws are bad, but they’re just a teeny drop in the giant ocean of plastic we’re swimming in. Here are other everyday plastic objects that we could put on the discontinued list.

Posted Jul 2018

See all articles on Plastic