“That plastic water bottle in your hand will feel as dangerous as a Molotov cocktail.”

Said Jeremy Irons in Candida Brady’s 2012 Documentary film ‘Trashed.’ This when visiting a Vietnamese hospital for children, where he found the legacy of Agent Orange. Welcome to the Age of Plastic: About 300 million tons of plastic is produced globally each year. Only about 10 percent of that is recycled. Of the plastic that is simply trashed, an estimated seven million tons ends up in the sea each year (NYTimes). Fact: The mass of plastic produced since 1950 is close to 6 billion metric tons, enough to bundle the entire planet in plastic wrap (Article). But the global market volume for bioplastics (good thing?) is expected to grow to nearly 6 billion metric tons by 2019. And according Boyan Slat (TEDX) we can start The Ocean Cleanup tomorrow.  It’s known that cities like Saida, Lebanon (VIDEO), Hawaii (VIDEO), Bali Indonesia (VIDEO) have enormous problems with plastic rubbish threatening beaches and waters. But the Italian city of Naples has one of the worst decades-long crises in plastic and waste and it’s managing of it (Wiki). Namely the waste Management industry (illegal waste) is thought to be runned by the Camorra criminal organization. One of the most beautiful and most fertile areas of Italy has been poisoned for years because of it. This has been creating unsafe health situations for the people of the Italian region of Campania – Triangolo della morte…..But a miracle happened 3 yrs ago!! In 2011, a former prosecutor by the name of Luigi de Magistris ran for the Mayor of Naples as the candidate of Italy of Values. He won in the second round, defeating the right-wing candidate Gianni Lettieri with 65% of the vote. Apparently people were so sick of the matter that they massively voted for the non-party de Magistris. The reason was that during the mayor elections De Magistris promises to solve the waste problem. Shortly after de Magistris was appointed, he signed the Dr. Paul Connett’s Zero Waste program. This program focuses on reducing waste to zero, through smart reuse of materials and preventing waste:  1.) Consuming less. 2.) Turning organic waste into compost. 3.) Recycling and reusing other waste; 3.) Demanding non wasteful product design and, 4.) Creating jobs and bringing community members together in the process. However, after the initiative was launched everywhere in Naples garbage got dumped on the streets, and trucks were shot. In 2013, Napels born Filmmaker Raffaele Brunetti took matters in own hands and released a provocative investigative film called Zero Waste. The dutch BOS bought the rights and showed it on Dutch Television on June15th. A-VITAL-to-Watch! Trailer above. Will Naples be able to turn from the worst into the best example of waste management? We all know by now that waste is a structural problem for our humanity and the planet. Damage has already been caused, but there’s still time to limit the damage and to find solutions. Fortunately, there are people who recognize the need to act and have started several initiatives. Anyone can contribute. Will you? Please help us and share your idea or opinion here…..10 Small Things… Learn More: Bill Kirkos’s 2007 Trashed, about growing industries in North America: Trash, Candida Brady’s 2012 Trashed with Jeremy Irons, FAN, AEHSP, The case against fluoride – PDF, Paul Connett, Clean Bin Project, Ian Connacher’s 2008 Addicted to Plastic, Story of Stuff, Niewsuur, 2007 Esmeralda Calabria, Andrea D’Ambrosio Biùtiful cauntri, and Manufactured Landscapes.