When plastic companies write the lesson plans

A report from the nonprofit Plastic Pollution Coalition documents how plastics industry groups have placed free or cheap curricula into American classrooms, reaching an estimated 132,000 students through one traveling program alone. The materials, according to the report, emphasize plastic's affordability and job creation while downplaying pollution, health risks, and the fact that only 9 percent of plastic is actually recycled worldwide.

Case studies include a trade group's 'plastic scavenger hunt' meant to teach that plastics are 'ubiquitous,' and a Dow-affiliated lesson inviting middle schoolers to pretend they work for Dow Chemical while designing bags. An education specialist quoted in the report says the technical jargon is designed to look like science while actually delivering economic ideology.

In Beaver County, Pennsylvania, Shell has reportedly paired plastics curricula with donated backpacks and a basketball court near its petrochemical complex — Shell did not respond to requests for comment, nor did the trade groups named. The report frames the pattern as decades-old, tracing industry lobbying over shopping-bag textbook content back to the 2000s.

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