Educational Media Reviews Online

In waters and landfills around the globe, plastic pollution is driven by single-use plastics, cheap goods like plastic straws, bags, bottles, and food wrappers that are made from petrochemicals and designed to be discarded after one use. What happens to these items after their use has drawn substantial attention in recent years with more communities banning plastic shopping bags and individuals making conscientious efforts to reduce their plastic consumption. Single-Use Planet shifts the focus to another problematic aspect associated with these materials, their production. Sprawling industrial facilities, called “crackers,” transform natural gas components into the plastic that’s used to manufacture single-use plastic goods. This process releases huge amounts of harmful chemicals into the atmosphere, contributing to climate change and causing a number of health problems in nearby communities, including rare cancers.

Single-Use Planet explores the effects of plastic manufacturing facilities on two communities in Pennsylvania and Louisiana. Through interviews and clips from testimonies at public hearings, residents recount noxious odors, nosebleeds, respiratory problems, and increased incidents of cancer in the area. They’re well aware of the dangers of the cracker plants near their homes, but unable to shut them down. Meanwhile, industry lobbyists pour money into sympathetic state legislators’ campaign funds, who then insist that the plants are good for the local economy. But are they? The film raises questions about the industry’s ability to have a meaningful impact on the local economy and also demonstrates how plastics can harm consumers’ health. There’s a feeling of powerlessness here, as legislators are all too willing to accept the money and talking points of lobbyists at the cost of their own constituents’ well-being. As a counterpoint, the film looks to France, where there is not only a huge decrease in the amount of single-use plastics available to consumers, but industries of all types are prevented from funding politicians’ campaigns. The film presents a clear and solidly-built argument that harms to residents and consumers due to single-use plastics are enabled and perpetuated through the petrochemical industry’s ability to control politicians.

In spite of these strengths, Single-Use Planet misses on a few points. The first is the lack of a fuller discussion of environmental justice. Residents in the areas where the plants are being built are often low-income and, in the case of the Louisiana plant, predominantly Black. Factors like these increase communities’ vulnerability to environmental harms, which wealthier, whiter areas have more power to resist. This is given some direct mention in the film, but the implications of these factors are felt throughout and deserve more explicit articulation. The second stumbling point is the hokey cartoons and songs that appear at various intervals, providing Schoolhouse Rock-esque recaps of the film’s main points. Infographics or more restrained animations would have provided welcome visual breaks from the interviews and clips that form the film, but these songs are weird and incongruous, ultimately distracting the viewer from an otherwise solid case against the petrochemical industry and the political landscape that enables it. Still, the smarmy oil and gas lobbyists are far more difficult to stomach than the cartoons. Fast forward through the songs, if necessary, and keep watching.

The film has its drawbacks, but it’s worth viewing and recommended for both academic and public libraries. There’s obvious potential for use in classes examining environmental justice and corporate political influence, but as more business degree programs embrace curricula focusing on sustainability and the climate crisis Single-Use Planet may also find a welcome place there. Early in the film, viewers learn that Pennsylvania’s renewable energy industry has far greater ability than the petrochemical industry to create jobs and improve the economy. The film presents a bleak picture of the current problems, but ideas like this offer hope and a path forward that future environmental activists, policy analysts, and business leaders can all learn from.

Awards:
Best U.S. Documentary, Santa Cruz Independent Film Fest; Best U.S. Documentary, Austin International Art Festival; Award of Distinction, IndieFEST Film Awards; Award of Excellence, Impact Docs; Award of Excellence, Accolade Global Film Competition

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