Whether we like it or not, we have to admit that plastic is everywhere. While over the recent years there has been a decrease in its consumption as a result of persons becoming more environmentally conscious and adapting the “Reuse, reduce, recycle” mentality, plastics still continue to exist. A study published in 2017, has stated that over 300 megatons of plastic is created worldwide each year. The food and textile industries are two of the main contributors to this volume. The problem with the continued use of plastics is the pollution which is derived when these substances find themselves improperly disposed of in the environment.
Plastic pollution has always been one of the main environmental concerns for decades. However, throughout the years, the main focus of attention has always been on macroplastics, which are plastics that can be seen with the naked eye. For a substantial amount of time, the world has been on a drive to reduce the number of plastic containers used and utilize containers made from more sustainable materials, for eg. reusable bags instead of plastic when shopping. While these practices were introduced as a result of the growing concern about plastic pollution and its negative impacts our environment, there are other forms of plastic pollution to which little or no attention has been given too. This included pollution from microplastics.
Have you ever heard of it?
Microplastics are plastic particles which are 5mm or less in size. They can be derived from a variety of sources including textiles, beauty and cosmetic products and food packaging. They can also originate from macroplastics which have been broken down by mechanical abrasion and UV exposure.
Its presence around you may also be more common than you think. I can name two products some of you may have in your bathroom right now which contains microplastics. For those of you who use facial products, have you ever used a facial wash or scrub which contains microbeads which beauty brands advertise as being great for exfoliating your skin? Have you ever wondered about what those microbeads are made of? Well if you can’t guess it by now, I’ll just let you know, that they are indeed microplastics! The other product that you may have on your bathroom vanity right now which may contain microplastics depending on the brand and the product, is toothpaste. You know the ones which state on the packaging “With micro-cleansing crystals,” those ‘micro-cleansing crystals’ are microplastics.
How do they enter into the environment?
Microplastics are easily transported by winds and currents due to its light weight and thus can end up in oceans, estuaries, freshwater bodies and even in the water coming out of our taps.
Primary microplastics vs secondary microplastics, the difference.
There are two types of microplastics discussed above. Microbeads which have been intentionally manufactured to a microscopic size which is 5mm in size are known as primary microplastics. On the other hand, the other type of microplastics known as secondary microplastics are ones which have been produced unintentionally through physical, chemical and biological breakdown of larger plastic materials over time. Some consider secondary plastics as one of the consequences of the main assets of plastics, that is, its durability. Secondary plastics begin as discarded plastic products that are mainly broken down in the ocean by sunlight and wave action. Overtime, it is shown that these particles continue to break down and are presumed to persist in the environment for centuries.
Human health and microplastics
The topic of microplastics as mentioned at the start is fairly new and the scientific research into the topic has been very limited. Research has been so limited and so far, they aren’t any known health effects of ingesting microplastics on the human body. This is a problem that should be monitored with a wary eye because the studies which have been done on microplastics have detected its presence in the air, food and water consumed by humans. Yes, you read that right! We are consuming microplastics on a daily basis. A study coming out of Frontiers in Chemistry revealed that of the of the 259 analyzed samples of bottled waters sold in several countries, 93% of them contained “microplastic” synthetic polymer particles and the average volume of microplastics found across the varying brands was 325 microplastics particles per liter of bottled water. Imagine you’re consuming the recommended amount of water per day which is around 3 liters (a rough estimate for both men and women) and its coming from bottled water. This means that whilst you’re consuming that 3 liters of water, you are also consuming approximately 975 microplastics particles per liter of bottled water per day. If you go on to calculate your weekly intake, then monthly and then yearly intake, the volume of microplastics you would have consumed for the year would have definitely accumulated to a very large number. It would therefore be delusional of us to think that such great volume of microplastics entering into our bodies would have no effect on our systems.
Marine organisms and microplastics
Studies conducted into the effect of microplastics on marine organisms have determined that these particles can be ingested by varying marine organisms including zooplankton, fish, seabirds, sea turtles, crustaceans and some mammals. There has also been some evidence which suggested that smaller microplastics possess highly toxic effects to algae. Microplastics have been proven to be harmful to marine organisms as they tend to have adsorption properties to toxic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHs), heavy metals and pathogens. This property has shown to negatively affect marine organisms as they cause an increase in oxidative stress and also reduces the amount of nutrients taken up by their bodies. Furthermore, microplastics have been shown to have implications at the tissue and cellular levels of marine organisms and affect energy reallocation and reproductive success. Threats to the reproductive abilities of these organisms would have blatant repercussions on the environment as it may threaten biodiversity.
The solution
From reading this post it may seem that it is inevitable that microplastics would continue to persist in our environment and therefore enter into the bodies of marine organisms and humans. While it may be a difficult to stop the formation of secondary microplastics as these can occur overtime from larger macroplastics, we can continue to adapt the “Reduce, reuse, recycle” mentality as this would reduce the amount of plastics we consume. Cutting back on the amounts of macroplastics we use, can reduce the amount of microplastics which are formed as a result of the degradation of the larger particles. However, in the case of primary microplastics, we can completely eliminate our use of it by not purchasing personal care products such as facial scrubs and toothpastes which contain microplastics. This would be the first step into ceasing the manufacturing of primary microplastics and thus eliminating its use and preventing its effects on the environment.
Thank you for reading today’s post. I hope that it was informative and insightful and that you learn at least one new tidbit of information. Feel free to share your comments below, I would love to know your thoughts on the topic!
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