Timeless plastic: Museum displays vintage beached waste
Archeoplastica is a museum of ancient plastic items, now displaying some of the items in a virtual mode. As the world negotiates a new international plastics treaty, this initiative confirms that plastic, once released into the environment, remains forever
The Archeoplastica project exhibits retro toys, food packets and detergent bottles and more from the 1960s to 1980s found on beaches. Shown here is a can of Coca-Cola from 1978. The company, a sponsor for the recent international climate summit COP27, has been named the top plastic polluter for five years in a row. Photo: Museum of Archeoplastica
The project was started to raise awareness about plastic pollution and bring about a change. Shown here a bottle of Cif sink cleaning solution from around 1975. The product was manufactured by Unilever and has probably been around for forty years. Photo: Museum of Archeoplastica
The exhibit displays more than 200 artefacts found on beaches in the Puglia Region, south of Italy. A bottle of Johnson & Johnson liquid cream is shown here, dating to the mid-1970s. The American multinational company was founded in 1886 and produces medical devices, pharmaceuticals and consumer packaged goods. Photo: Museum of Archeoplastica
Over 14 million metric tonnes of plastic enters and damages aquatic ecosystems annually, according to a United Nations Environment Programme study. Global plastic waste is set to almost triple by 2060, says the intergovernmental organisation Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Shown here is a football with the famous logo of Italia 1990 World Cup. Photo: Museum of Archeoplastica
The initiative hopes to lead the observer to reflect on the problem of plastic pollution in the sea from another perspective by observing beached waste more than fifty years old. A bottle of liquid Lux or dish detergent from 1963 is shown here. Unilever manufactured the product. Photo: Museum of Archeoplastica
