According to Our World in Data, 70 years ago, the world produced around just two million tons of plastic. Today, the world produces over 460 million tons of plastic, annually. The world’s use of plastic has led to a near irreversible problem, with consequences reaching not only our environment, but also wildlife, our bodies, and third world countries. But where are these microplastics coming from?
“It’s the ability to be recycled, but I believe it’s more based on the cost for production,” said biology and AP environmental science teacher Mr. Dreves.
It’s true, plastic has become the go-to material for everything, especially household items like bags, water bottles, tupperware, packaging materials, etc. And while their single-use ease plays a role, it really comes down to the price. Compared to other materials, plastic is on the cheaper side to make.
Take plastic’s cheap production cost and combine it with its durability; you’ll see why plastic has such value in our daily lives. However, what many do not know is that not all plastic is actually recyclable. Even what most of us think is recyclable, really isn’t: plastic straws, grocery bags, plastic film, bubble wrap, and more. What starts as an innocent mistake of misplacement can lead to damaging whole groups of actually recyclable materials.
Most of the time, these non-recyclable plastics wind up in landfills and are left there to rot while seeping into our soil and water. And this is just one of the ways microplastics become microplastics; bigger or whole pieces of plastic being left in our environment to break down over time.
“I don’t think people realize the severity of the situation, like, how internal this is to our everyday lives,” said Ecology president Anna Schaninger. “People often think ‘Oh, you know, microplastics in the ocean, well that doesn’t affect us,’ but microplastics are literally in our bodies.”
You, not only, are living with microplastics inside of you, but chances are you are wearing microplastics right now. And that goes back to the cost. The truth is, buying genuine, good quality clothing is expensive and for many, a luxury. Fast fashion has promoted the cheap and mass production of clothing and other items.
Common clothing fabrics like polyester, nylon, spandex, and acrylic are all made from synthetic fibers that shed microplastics while being made, washed, and even while being worn.
Zara, H&M, and Forever 21 are the top fast fashion companies contributing to environmental pollution, according to Earth.org. When a new microtrend comes about and people throw all of their old, “last season” stuff away, it piles up in landfills that are overtaking third world countries.
Microplastics pollute our whole world. These landfills with heaps of plastics, trash, and other damaging pollutants lead to ever-lasting negative effects on everyone and everything, and there is no way around it.
Microplastics are too small to be filtered out, and when they wash into the sea and even onto land, it is detrimental.
“They’re finding small bits [of microplastics] in more and more animals that aren’t even near these landfills,” said Mr. Dreves. “Therefore, biomagnification is occurring, where it is passed on from one species to another.”
According to Frontiers, Microplastics have shown detrimental effects on an animal’s overall health and development, including weakening their intestines, stunting their growth, decreasing their chances of survival and reproduction, and generally just disturbing their biology.
Likewise, these microplastics have been found inside humans lungs, intestines, and placenta. Impacting, not only animals, but also humans’ reproductive systems, affecting future generations of offspring. Our bodies aren’t meant to be consuming microplastics at all, we are not able to digest and break down these microplastics.
We can’t just get rid of these plastics, though. Everytime you throw something away, it doesn’t just disappear, it is still on our planet. And these plastics don’t break down, they decompose over hundreds of years into tinier and tinier pieces, never fully disappearing.
Our Earth was not built to deal with all of these atrocities, all of the catastrophic damage that has been done to it. As humans, we are the most invasive species, and we made this problem. Now we need to find a way to fix it.
Bringing your own bags to the grocery store, going to more farmers markets to avoid plastic packaging, not buying or using single-use plastic anything, recycling responsibly, and composting are the easiest and most accessible ways to reduce the use of plastic.
“I just think it’s unrealistic to say, ‘Well, let’s reverse it,’” said Schaninger. “I do think it’s hopeful to say we can do a lot of things not to fix, but to prevent this in the future.”
