Plastic Prayer Flag Project

An Art project for Community, Education and Environmental Awareness

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Do figures on reductions in single use bags take into account the number of these thicker bags? I wonder 🤔 Word on the street is that I pick up more thick plastic bag these days & fewer thin ones 🙄 . . . . . . #plasticbag #plasticbagssuck #plasticprayerflagproject #saynotoplastic #plasticfreejuly #2minutestreetclean #plasticsucks #ecowarrior #waronplastic #ecofriendly #ecoartist #pickuptrash #plasticprayerflag #plasticfree #saynotoplasticbags #endplasticpollution #singleuse #reuse https://www.instagram.com/p/BzwEuP4HqJl/?igshid=j1846ibh2smb

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It's Plastic Free July 🙌🙌🙌(although really it's a year-round effort). . An opportunity for us all to take a look at our waste & what we consume & consider where we can minimise our impact. It's not about beating yourself up if you use something plastic or about judging others but about making those small shifts that as a collective make a HUGE difference! . Refuse- single use plastic, this requires some initial 🌿 (bottles, straws, cups, cutlery, bags oh how this list goes on!) 🙅🙅🙅 . Reuse- what you already have 🌀 . Reduce- what you use/buy ☺️ . Rot- what can return to the earth 🍋🍇🍒🥕👩‍🌾 . Recycle- as a last resort (it's better than landfill but not a SOLUTION) ♻️ . And last but not least- pick up litter that someone else has dropped 💚🌍🐋 . . Close up of Earth-One Strange Rock by the artist @b0rdalo_ii . . . #plasticfreejuly #endplasticpollution #marinedebris (at Cascais) https://www.instagram.com/p/BzX284JHKYq/?igshid=f66slk0y8sts

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Plastic from my pocket 🙌 According to my husband I'm the world's most annoying person to go on a walk with 🤸‍♀️✌️ As well as collecting plastic bags and other trash I carry a small bag that I reuse over & over again to collect little/micro plastics. This was yesterday's haul. Some lollipop sticks from the beach, some hard plastics that had been run over & ground into the tarmac by cars & someone obviously spilled a bag of o-rings. 🍩🏝🚗🚌 . . . These are the plastics that often get missed by street sweepers & make there way into drains after a heavy rain ☔️. Into waterways, broken down further by sun & surf & then mistaken as food by birds & animals 😞🕊🐋🐡 . . Im always stopping to pick tiny fragments of plastic from the cracks in the pavement. Of course I can't always do this as I'd never make it anywhere & it would completely exhaust Renato's patience with me 😬 https://www.instagram.com/p/BzVCzkkHwp4/?igshid=9y1gmmlnlnib

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Snapping more plastic trash on the streets- plastic bunting, rain soaked and strewn over the streets post-festas. . . I collected what I could to become part of Plastic Prayer Flags that will NOT end up on the streets 🙌☝️ #upcycledart #ecoartist #litterpicking (at Lisbon, Portugal) https://www.instagram.com/p/BzNRQrsndu5/?igshid=2qfo1f5fjeh6

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Been getting a bit slack at documenting the plastic bags I collect for Prayer Flags. I'm still collecting just often trying to work out where I'm going to put these often pretty dirty plastic bags amongst my backpack of reusable nappies, containers of baby food, water bottles etc. I normally try to carry a clean-ish bag to put them in but sometimes I forget 🤦‍♀️ Being an eco-warrior requires great organisation at times! 😬 . . . . #plasticprayerflagproject #plasticbags #2minutestreetclean (at Alcântara, Lisboa, Portugal) https://www.instagram.com/p/BzOguYYn3AC/?igshid=msu91jvg8e2x

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Micro waste collected from inside my @guppyfriend @stopmicrowaste 💦🌊 Tiny little fibres released when you wash synthetic clothes. Most of the plastic in the oceans is in fact microwaste- not visible to the naked eye. This is also what is in bottled water, tap water, air & soil. . . Every time I wash synthetic clothing I wash inside the guppyfriend and the micro fibres from polyester, nylon, acrylic (all plastics) etc are collected. I pick them out of the corners of the bag and collect in a small jar. This is 18 months worth of micro waste collection. When I have enough, these little bits of fluff will be turned into something else... watch this space 🙌... although at this rate it's going to take a while 😂 . . I try to avoid synthetic clothing although I do have some that is outdoor wear, yoga clothes, vintage/2nd hand, stuff I've owned for a LONG time & some that has a % of synthetic. Owning a guppyfriend has made me more aware of what the clothing I own is made of. Sometimes we also need to make decisions- it is more environmentally friendly to keep what I own even if it is synthetic rather than pass it on & run out and buy even the most sustainable of natural fibres- bamboo, linen , organic cotton? My vote would always be use what you own & useful until it can be used no more... . . So what can we do about microwaste? 👇 1. Avoid buying new clothes/textiles, especially synthetic ones. (This includes carpets, cleaning clothes & sponges all of which release microfibres into the water/air) 2. Only wash clothes when they REALLY need it. 3. If you need something that will almost unavoidably be synthetic e.g. Swimwear try to buy one made from recycled fibres. 4. Use a guppyfriend to other microwaste capture solution. 5. Hand wash or use the most gentle cycle on your machine 5. Do not tumble dry 6. Washing machines may increasingly have systems to capture some of this waste but as with the clothes better to use your old machine than to run out & buy an entirely new machine- this clearly would be counter-eco! 😑 . . Any more ideas please add in comments 👇👍 #stopmicrowaste #microwaste #plasticpollution (at London, United Kingdom) https://www.instagram.com/p/ByzvobPnemR/?igshid=2cmxu17s08a5

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Disintegrated plastic bag found In Vietnam 2016 . . . . #plasticbag #plasticprayerflagproject #artfromwaste https://www.instagram.com/p/Byro-d6nHYE/?igshid=huemoedibxgy

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Can you spot the gold amongst the Spanish moss? My guess is it's a helium balloon 🎈 😔 As well as plastic bags you can spot such a bizarre range of plastic litter in trees. This one was so far out of my reach I could only capture it photographically 📷rather than physically 🌳 - - - - #plasticintrees #plasticsucks #balloonsblow (at Savannah Historic District) https://www.instagram.com/p/BxskdGxHiQW/?igshid=s5vz9b8dh1rn

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Happy Easter from Dartmoor! 🐶Dog owners a little plea 🙏please don't leave your poo bags in nature ☹️ Doing this defeats the purpose of cleaning up after your pet. I always assume animal lovers must be nature lovers too? Not only can the plastic end up in water ways or soil but also other animals like horses, deer & cows can end up eating them- and it can kill them 😞 #plasticbags #doglovers #naturelovers https://www.instagram.com/plasticprayerflags/p/BwiDxrJnTjo/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1t8erg8k1r47

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Plastic☹️- Built to last for ever but when it breaks is very difficult to repair & effectively immediately becomes trash. Encountered this scene on the way home meaning I had to do a quick #2minutestreetclean ✌️ . . In London you can pick up great stuff off the street. I have plenty of furniture aquired this way 🛋🛏🛁. If people are getting rid of something they often just put it outside & it's normally not long before someone comes along & takes it. I think that was the intention with these 2 plastic boxes (last photo) but somehow one of the lids ended up in the street & CRUNCH 🚗🚎🚙🚌🛵😞 Brittle plastic smithereenes 👎 . . When I saw this I hesitated, I had a hungry baby, needed to pee & was in a bit of a rush to get somewhere 🏃‍♀️... but I just couldn't walk on by 😣🙈 it took only a few minutes & hopefully prevented all these tiny little microplastics from being washed down the drains💦. It's not much in the grande scheme but this one lid could kill a few sea birds once in the 🌊 💀🕊😢It's always worth it!☝️I also kept a handful of the fragments to use in an art project (I'd have kept more but running out of storage) so most of this went in a nearby bin sadly. . . Something we can all do is try to buy less, buy things that last a lifetime, second hand is best, repair them when they break & avoid plastic if possible. In the long run it's cheaper than buying junk that's going to last a couple of years before breaking or needing replaced. #2minutestreetclean #trashtag #streetclean (at Canonbury) https://www.instagram.com/plasticprayerflags/p/BwcCbRLnRZ4/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1drfge6t3w1or

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Plastic hillsides, plastic cascades, plastic landscapes... Used for an instant, around forever 😕 . . . #plasticpollution #citytosea #plasticpollutes (at Myanmar) https://www.instagram.com/plasticprayerflags/p/BwabNycHDmy/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=reb3nxv6lrqb

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Still picking up plastic bags 🙄Hoping this street litter will be part of a Plastic prayer flag in the not too distant future. But @mcdonalds I'd much rather not be picking them up at all. . . . #streetlitter #plasticsucks #saynotosingleuse (at London, United Kingdom) https://www.instagram.com/plasticprayerflags/p/BwPPh7nH4ww/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1jqf84yqkiaxq

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From city 🌃to 🔜 sea 🌊 . . Have you noticed plastic objects that have been run over where you live? Like a weird plastic roadkill. This is step one☝️ in a large piece of plastic from the city becoming microplastics in the ocean. In the next rain 🌧💧 they get washed down the drain & often will end up in the sea to be broken down further & end up in the stomachs of these guys- 🐋🐬🦈🐟 to name a few... then I picked most of this up, it wasn't easy crouching under a car to pick up itty bitty plastic fragments, some of which I couldn't reach or get out of the little cracks in the road- I was 9 months pregnant at the time 🤰& already carrying lots in my hands. Not sure what people walking by thought- 🤣 . . . You may never litter directly but you never know where your plastic may end up. The less we produce, buy, use & throw away the better. Don't let plastic be our generation's legacy! 💚🌏 . . . . #microplastics #plasticpollution #citytosea https://www.instagram.com/plasticprayerflags/p/BuC3rwDHG-y/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1cdi2o81mnue9

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River tide plastic bags... 😔 - - - #plasticpollution #plasticsucks #plasticprayerflagproject (at Kampot, Cambodia) https://www.instagram.com/plasticprayerflags/p/Bt3xBeTHIT4/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=r86a002ybs97

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Possibly my first plastic bag for the project? Sado-ga-shima, Japan 2004. Found this picture in the back of a drawer (from before everything was just digital!) #plasticprayerflagproject #plasticprayerflags #plasticwaste https://www.instagram.com/p/BtlG4seHB_s/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1kyjlim305t9p

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Prayer flags (not the plastic variety) at Glastonbury Festival. Festivals are a wonderful place to share ideas & try out new ways to tackle waste, resources & living together in close quarters but more connected with nature 🍃🦋than we are perhaps when living in bricks & mortar. However, as we all know they often are left strewn with waste after the fun is over. . . Many of the plastic bags & other waste materials I've collected over the years have come from festivals, such is the density of litter. I was gearing up to run Prayer Flags & other waste art workshops at the summer festivals until my head injury 🤕 when I had to put things on hold. Plotting ahead for the future now. The purpose of these workshops is education & engagement. Although it's nice to make these art projects with an outcome, I'd really rather there was no waste in the first place! #trashart #plasticprayerflagproject #makeartnottrash https://www.instagram.com/p/Bs6i9uXHDvo/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1ufz0b4n49cbi

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May this soon be a thing of the past 🙏 #bringyourownbag #reuserevolution #refusesingleuse (at Archway, London) https://www.instagram.com/p/BsI9kYdHYyY/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1vorr0n10etem