The Microplastic Dilemma

by Grace Yoon, Edited by Kavya Gurunath, Taruni Manam, & Ameya Aneja, Art by Cal Shin-Koh, Layout by Inchara J, & Blogged by Sahithi Lingampalli

Plastic that enters our waters doesn't ever truly break down, instead it is turned into microplastic. People ingest about a full credit card’s worth of plastic every week without even realizing it. Further consumption of plastic can cause health and developmental issues.

Microplastic is a global problem. It impacts everyone. Companies have been mass-producing products that involve plastic in one way or another- from packaging to distribution. Although many plastic products we see are advertised as recyclable, only 9% of them are recycled. 12% are incinerated, and the rest are in landfills or out in nature. Plastic waste is everywhere to be seen, including our oceans; the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is measured to be three times the size of France. Plastic is not biodegradable; instead, it breaks down into tiny pieces, called microplastic. They can be smaller than 5mm in dimension, and these microplastic bits impact our environment, body and more. Microplastic greatly impact the marine environment. More and more animals end up consuming these tiny bits unknowingly- including us.

Microplastic is found in many places, including our food. According to some studies, the average person consumes over 70,000 microplastics per year. This number will only increase if plastic is not properly disposed of. The number of plastic on Earth quite literally outnumbers the number of people on Earth. Since 1950, over 8.3 billion tons of plastics have been produced. Even after subtracting all the recycled plastic, we are still facing over 5 billion tons of plastic waste that is not properly disposed of. Microplastic is found in our water, air and food (such as fish, honey, salt, sugar and such).

Although it is believed that microplastic doesn’t greatly affect our health, direct contact with it can have effects on us on a cellular level. Depending on many variables, such as size, shape and chemical makeup, it can cause many health problems. Since microplastic particles can’t be digested, they can cause obstruction and complications in one’s body. Because the study of microplastic is fairly new, no one is completely sure of the extent of the damage daily microplastic consumption can do. Besides digestive issues, microplastic can disrupt the development of newborns. A new study found microplastics in human placentas which can affect their health, development and immunity mechanisms. With so many unknown effects microplastic can cause, people must do their part to reduce the amount of plastic waste made.

Plastic itself can be very useful as it is mostly cheap and durable. The real issue with plastic is the single-use lifestyle accustomed to many. If these plastics were recycled and reused more, the amount of microplastic in our water could decrease. People could also volunteer for beach clean-ups and use more biodegradable options over plastic. Choosing to use utensils made out of starch may not seem like much, but showing the general public’s interest in the environment can pressure big companies to change their methods as well. However, this does not mean you absolutely can’t use plastic- it is simply a suggestion to avoid using single-use plastic products. However, changes occuring in one or two communities, unfortunately, do not make a great impact. People have to start protesting and urging companies to change their wasteful methods to truly make an impactful change.

References

Haslam, F. (n.d.). The big problem of microplastics - University of Nottingham - The University of Nottingham. University of Nottingham. Retrieved June 17, 2021, from https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/connectonline/research/2018/the-big-problem-of-microplastics.aspx

Hwang, J. (2020, April 30). Potential toxicity of polystyrene microplastic particles. Scientific Reports. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-64464-9?error=cookies_not_supported&code=fa823d77-d43a-4821-a495-cc9dea7eddbb

O, J. (2021, February 4). 3 Solutions to reducing Microplastics in Our Oceans. L’Aquila Active. https://laquilaactive.com/3-solutions-to-reducing-microplastics-in-our-oceans/

Plastic on Earth

by Cal Shin-Koh