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PBS NewsHour: The Plastic Problem documentary and student-inventor lesson

A 54-minute documentary and a 3–4 lesson plan (grades 9–12) on how student inventors can tackle plastic, with Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) codes listed.

Organisation
PBS NewsHour Classroom
Duration
3–4 x 50 minutes
Curriculum links
NGSS HS-ETS1-1, HS-ETS1-2, HS-ETS1-3, HS-ESS3-4
Licence
Embed (official YouTube) / Link only
Checked on
22 September 2026

PBS NewsHour's The Plastic Problem (2019, 54 minutes, on YouTube) explains the recycling gap clearly, and NewsHour Classroom's accompanying lesson 'How student inventors can help solve the Earth's plastic problem' runs over three to four 50-minute sessions with a Google Doc template. Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) HS-ETS1-1, HS-ETS1-2, HS-ETS1-3 and HS-ESS3-4 are explicitly listed. Aging but still accurate on the fundamentals.

Who made and funded this: PBS NewsHour (US public broadcasting), publicly and foundation funded. How to use it: pairs with our science-fair experiments and the ages 15–18 lesson. Official YouTube embed plus classroom use.

Sources last verified 22 September 2026. Page updated 23 September 2026. How we check sources