Plastic City

I‘m tired of living
in a small ups
warehouse. i want
the whole city
to myself. i‘m
gonna capture
the entire nyc.
Plastic City is a graphic novel created
to call attention to the danger of
using plastic products and encourage
people to use eco-friendly commodities.
The book revolves around two
main characters, a polyplastic bag
and a plastic bottle personified as
characters: Poly and Plas. They are
represented as negative characters to
trigger adverse associations toward
plastic products. Plas with the help of
Poly tries to force all residents out of
the city by polluting streets with plastic
waste. The story presents recycling as
a solution to the plastic waste problem
by incorporating another character
called Rec who is a recycling bin.
Nevertheless, Plas and Poly
win the fight against Rec
because more new plastic is
being transported by UPS
delivery trucks to the city
every day than is being recycled.
Fortunately, two heroes, an
eco-friendly bottle and a bag
collectively called the Ecos, come
to New York to save it from Poly
and Plas. The Ecos fight with plastic
and substitute reusables for all of
the disposables used in the city.
Then the recycling bin Rec becomes
strong enough to compete with
Poly and Plas and as a result,
returns the city to New Yorkers.
i hate this place
too. plas, i‘m going
to new york with
you. with my help,
we‘ll trash the
city and get all
people out!

I love taking a
walk outside,
especially when
the streets
are clean.
I‘m a New yorker and I
talk trash! And, i dump
trash everywhere i go.
but somehow it
always gets cleaned
up and i have room to
toss more trash. But
what does New York
do with all the trash
on the streets?
yesterday this
street was a
mess but today
all the trash is
gone. does
trash get
recycled?
2
3

this city makes
me puke. it‘s too
clean. i don‘t
see any plastic
laying around.
poly, do you see
those two over
there? we got to sell
them lots of plastic
bottles and bags so
they have no chance
to recycle them all.
we have to
act fast
before
someone
recycles us.
let‘s offer
these new
yorkers really
cheap plastics.
they won‘t
be able to
resist them.
we have to
leave them no
choice but to use
plastic every step
of the way.
4
5

hey everyone!
i have the cheapest
plastic bottles
here. come
and get them!
it‘s your lucky
day. you are
getting our
best plastic
bags and
very cheap!
Plastic
Bottles
$0.01
dear
new yorkers!
only today.
the best
plastic bags at
the best price.
Plastic
Bottles
$0.01
guys, you need these
plastic bottles.
today‘s special is 50
free bottles when
you buy only one
box of plastic
bottless.
Plastic
Bottles
$0.01
6
7

lately, it‘s been
hard to keep up with
recycling. the city is
overpopulated and
no-one troubles
themselves about how
much plastic they use.
i keep this city
clean. i can
recycle
anything,
especially
plastic
cuz i hate
plastic.
as long as i do my
job, the city will
stay clean. there
will be no plastic
laying around. at
least i hope so.
8
9

plastic bags
are all you ever
wanted. let‘s wrap
the whole city
in plastic!
Special shipment!
The annual stock
of plastic bottles
for every
new yorker.
Plastic
Bottles
$0.01
Plastic
Bottles
$0.01
it‘s a pleasure to have
business with you. i hope we‘ll
continue working together
until there‘s more plastic for
everyone than has ever been
needed. i‘m glad i can supply
new yorkers with the best
quality plastic at this great
special price.
new york is the easiest
place to trash with
plastic. Locals are
too busy to worry
about proper disposal
and recycling of
plastic products.
Plastic
Bottles
$0.01
10
11

hey, you two. please give me your
plastic. i know what to do with it. i‘m
a recycling master, ask anyone. Not
a single plastic gets past me without
proper disposal. plus, i‘m always
here on the side of the road. come by
any time of the day or night. i‘m here
for your service, no questions
asked. i‘m the best recycling bin in
nyc. but you can just call me rec.
in the city with more than 8
million people, it gets tough
to keep up with my job. but
i try my best to stop the
overflowing of litter
baskets and clean up the
trash languishing
on the curbs.
when new yorkers
properly dispose plastic
products, i can recycle
them into some useful
things like this park
bench for instance.
12
13

poly, ups has
just shipped
tons of new
plastic
products to
nyc. now, the
city belongs
to us!
i heard something
about a plastic ban in
ny. i guess it was just
a rumor or a joke.
whatever it was,
no-one can ban it
anymore or even
more-get rid of it!!!
soon the only
residents of nyc will
be plastic commodities.
our friends from ups
supply the city with
the best high-quality
plastics in some insane
quantities.
14
15

the number of
plastic that
circulates
between the city
and the recycling
bin becomes too
overwhelming for
rec.
recycling creates
new useful products.
Today a plastic bag
may be used for
carrying groceries …
but what can a plastic
bag become after you
use it?
When plastic bottles
are recycled they
can be made into
sneakers, backpacks,
skateboards, glasses,
and more bottles. It
takes about 20 bottles
to produce enough
plastic fiber to create a
cool new backpack.
i can‘t keep doing
this anymore. New
yorkers use way too
much plastic that
can‘t ever be
recycled.
16 17

this dumpster
looks perfectly
fine for my
deathbed. i‘ll
find my peace
here. bye-bye
my life-long
recycling
adventure.
i give up on
recycling
plastic. i‘m
leaving the city
and never coming
back.
life of a recycling
bin is very hard when
disposables never
stop coming and new
yorkers don‘t
bother to recycle
the right way.
i‘ve had it with this
city and the locals
who live here. i‘m
going to end my
life and no-one
can stop me.
18
19

since rec is gone,
i feel stronger
than ever before.
i‘m the most
durable plastic
bottle. i‘m
unrecyclable.
now we own the city!
once we got rid of rec,
no-one can stop us
from capturing the
entire new york city.
it‘s no longer nyc. it‘s
our kingdom. it‘s our
plastic city!
now without rec, i‘m the
most resistant plastic bag
in the whole plastic city.
it will take up to 1,000
years for me to naturally
decompose, and that‘s when
not taking into account the
future innovations that will
make me last forever.
20
21

poly, look! finally, all
the locals are running
away from the city and
as long as we are here
they are not coming
back. Plastic city is only
for poly and plas.
dear humans,
No trespassing!
moving upstate
was the only
option for us to
escape that plastic
madness. we had to
run away from
poly and plas.
this place is not
great either but at
least here we
shouldn‘t worry
about being
buried under a pile
of plastic.
i‘m getting out
of this city. it‘s
trashed. there‘s
so much plastic
on the streets.
i can‘t live like
this. i‘m out.
i‘m not sure how
long i can live
upstate but i
certainly know i
can‘t go back to
plastic city.
we have to live
upstate for as
long as poly
and plas are in
the city.
22
23

new yorkers
helped us a lot on
our mission to
capture the city.
they willingly
bought all cheap
plastic from us and
tossed it outside.
finally, we trashed this
place and pushed all
new yorkers out. rec is
no longer our threat.
Now we run the city and
nothing but plastic can
enter our city while we
are in charge.
24 25

what‘s going on?
who let amazona
into the city? we
can‘t let this truck
bring anything here.
we are the ecos. we
are here on a
mission to save nyc
and return it to all
new yorkers. to
accomplish our plan
we need rec to start
recycling again.
amazona
has some evil
plan on how to
return new york
to its residents.
special rush delivery
from the factory
of amazona to
save nyc and end
plastic insanity.
26
27

rec, i‘m an ec0-friendly
water bottle. i want
everyone to switch
from using plastic
products to reusable
ecological items.
rec, you are
not alone.
together we
have the
strength to
face poly
and plas.
you have to stand up,
rec. there‘s so much
work to do. we
haven‘t lost to poly
and plas yet. we need
you to keep recycling
while we try to
substitute all
disposable plastic
with eco products.
hi rec, i‘m an
eco-friendly
bag. i was
shipped from
the amazona
factory.
rec, with your
help we will have a
chance to return
new york to
its residents.
you should‘ve never
given up on nyc.
there‘re many ways
how new york can be
saved from poly
and plas.
let‘s put all
disposables back
into rec‘s bin. i
think he is ready to
start recycling
again. rec is a
great recycling
machine.
with your help, we
can fight poly and
plas and can
destroy all their
evil plans.
poly and
plas are very
strong but they
are nothing
compared to us.
luckily rec is ready
to continue his
mission. he will
take the lead in the
recycling process
to reduce the
number of trash on
the streets.
28
29

ups is a major
cause of plastic
pollution in the city.
they deliver tons
of plastic to new
york and sell them
through poly and
plas at really
cheap prices.
we have to stop ups
trucks from entering
the city. then rec will
be able to recycle
all the plastic
that‘s already on
the streets and no
more new plastic
will be brought in.
i‘m glad you guys returned
me to life. i should‘ve never
stopped recycling. i was
created only for one
reason to turn used
plastic into a new useful
product. i‘m dedicated to
my mission as never before.
i‘m gonna help you ecos to
return nyc to its residents.
even without ups delivery
trucks that supplied the
city residents with big
quantities of plastic,
there‘re still poly and plas
who are the source of the
plastic problem. if we
succeed in destroying poly
and plas, we will win the
war against plastic.
we stopped ups trucks from
coming to the city. now we have
to fight poly and plas since
they are the biggest plastic
threat left as an enemy to us.
to destroy them for good we
need a strategy. Those guys
won‘t give up easily. we can give
them a chance to leave the city
peacefully but if that doesn‘t
work we should fight them. and
i think we should start with
plas and then attack poly.
30
31

hey you! we are the ecos and
there‘s our friend rec. we
wanna have a talk with you
about the little problem you
created for new york city
residents. the locals who
lived their entire lives in nyc
had to flee their homes.
we want you two to leave
the city right now. we won‘t
negotiate with you. you
have to go and never come
back. if you refuse to do
what we tell you, you‘ll
suffer the consequences.
listen to me plas! take
your plastic bottles
and get out of this city.
i never wanna see
you again. you‘re a
disposable piece of
garbage. go back to the
ups warehouse where
you came from or else
i‘ll destroy you!
plas, i‘m done with you. you
are now defeated by the
strongest eco-friendly
water bottle. now ecos will
run the city and will bring
new york residents back to
their homes. no-one will
ever use disposable plastic
in nyc as long as i‘m alive.
poly and plas, you are
a threat to new york
city and its residents.
we want you out. you
guys brought a lot of
trouble so you have to
leave on your own or
we will make you.
32
33

i feel so powerful since
i fought that plastic
poly. my next goal is to
promote eco-friendly
products among all new
yorkers. but with our
high-quality and free
shipping, it will be
a piece of cake.
thank you, ecos for not
letting me get rotten
in that dumpster. i have
an important mission
in my life that will help
millions of new yorkers.
i‘m ready as never
before to start
recycling again.
plastic bags
are a pile
of garbage!
you said
you can live
1,000 years,
i doubt that.
well done eco! kick that
piece of plastic. we are the
toughest eco-friendly
commodities on the market.
now we are available for
online order at amazona
with free rush shipping. soon
every new yorker will walk
outside with a brand new
set of ecos.
here comes the sweet taste of
victory. we are undefeatable.
destroying poly and plas was
not easy but we‘ve managed to
do it. as of now we still have a
lot of work ahead of us. we
have to promote eco-products
among local new yorkers who i
feel will be returning to
the city very soon.
34
35

we‘ve accomplished our
mission. the city is ready
to welcome locals back.
i‘m very excited to see all
new yorkers walking on
the streets with our
eco-friendly products.
Nearly 29.3 percent of
plastic bottles and 13.4
percent of plastic
bags are recycled in
the U.S. If everyone
pitches in, we can do
even better.
i‘ve made a deal with
amazona. they gave
us 1,000,000 free
eco-friendly water
bottles and reusable
tote bags just for
new york residents.
there‘s no way
someone will even
think of using
disposable
plastic again.
36 37

i can‘t believe we are
forced to leave the city
and go back to the ups
warehouse where we
came from. but our
plastic adventure is not
over. poly and i are not
giving up. we‘ll be back.
and next time we‘ll try to
capture the entire planet!
it‘s amazing to be back in
the big city. we can walk
on the streets enjoying
coffee from eco-friendly
tumblers and going
grocery shopping with
stylish reusable
tote bags.
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