This July 3 marks International Plastic Bag Free Day, a global event organized by Zero Waste Europe and the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives dedicated to the reduction of single-use bags. But for photographer Chris Jordan, every day is an opportunity to spread awareness about the devastating impacts of disposable plastics. For the past decade, Jordan has dedicated his photography career to making abstract stories of environmental degradation visceral.

His perspective was conceived in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, when he saw news outlets disseminating image upon image of dead babies wrapped in blankets, distraught mothers and decimated belongings. “All the news coverage was delivered in that typical, flat news voice,” he says. “I felt nothing. But I had the intuition that there was a photographic story to be told—one of reverence and love.” The result was his seminal work on plastic pollution, which he is now working to transform from still to moving image—all at a time when the environmental impacts of waste are more stark than ever.

I caught up with Jordan to find out the stories behind some of his most moving images, and to go deeper into how he uses his work to serve as commentary on human consumption and engagement.