Activity 3.3.3 – My Plastic Use

    Plastic usage has been increasing in society at a steady rate for a number of years since it first started to be utilized. Even though plastic is considered to be an incredibly convenient part of every day life for many people, plastic usage has a large amount of negative side effects, such as microplastics. Microplastics are plastic fragments that have a size of less than five millimeters. Microplastics, which are a direct result of overusing plastic, have become widespread in the environment. They can be detected in the air that individuals inhale and in the water, along with producing severe amounts of pollution globally. Microplastics can originate from a wide variety of locations all over the world. According to the article, "The Environmental Impacts of Microplastics: An Investigation of Microplastic Pollution in North Country Waterbodies," most microplastics come from the daily use of common plastics. One of the most important ways that microplastics get into the environment is when bigger plastic items like water bottles and food packaging. Additionally, some microbeads have been found in personal care and cosmetic items that people are exposed to and that contribute to pollution. Landfills, dumping, and inefficient recycling management are all routes by which plastic trash can reach the environment. Plastic trash can hurt the environment in a number of ways, such as when it is disposed of improperly. When plastic ends up in water, it can often begin to degrade and pollute the oceans with these small pieces. (Haab.)

    The presence of microplastics is incredibly harmful to the environment in a number of ways. Microplastics can be very bad for sea life when they end up in water. The video, Simons Foundation Science Sandbox, mentions that out of many water samples taken globally, almost 75% of them were polluted by microplastics. (2019.) Animals often think they are food and eat them, which can be detrimental to their general health. It has also been shown that microplastics can soak up harmful chemicals, which can then eventually affect the health of people if humans consume them. These pollutants have the potential to harm biodiversity and may be a factor in climate change. These pieces of plastic are often so small that the human eye cannot see them. This makes it hard to find them and remove them from both the water and environment.

    Along with all of the negative effects that microplastics have on the environment, it also put the health of humans at a considerable amount of risk. Humans are globally exposed to microplastics from all of its sources on a daily basis, and the continued usage of plastic has resulted in a larger amount of microplastics being created as time passes. As a result, most humans inhale and consume microplastics almost every day. “You eat or breathe in about 2,000 tiny plastic particles each week, the World Wildlife Federation found in a 2019 study. Most are ingested from bottled water and tap water.” (Snider, 2022.) As a result, it has been found that microplastic is now present in the bloodstream of some individuals, which is a large health concern. 

    In conclusion, microplastics have many negative side effects on the entire world and its ecosystem, including all of the living beings that are exposed to them. Due to the massive production of plastic items in society, many more pieces of microplastic are being generated and left inside oceans every day.

Most individuals use plastic in their everyday lives for many different reasons. These collage images represent the plastics that I have used over the course of the last three days, which is similar to the photo essay released by the Guardian to show household plastic use. Being able to visualize how much plastic we use as individuals can help lower the amount of plastic that is used. It can make people more careful about how they use and throw away plastic because it can encourage responsible recycling.

References

Environmental Protection Agency (EPS). (2018). National overview: Facts and figures on materials, wastes and recycling. https://www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-and-recycling/national-overview-facts-and-figures-materials     Guardian. (2018, June 5). Families around the world join war on plastic—in pictures. The Guardian Picture Essay. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jun/05/families-around-the-world-join-war-on-plastic-in-pictures     Haab, S., & Haab, K. (n.d.). The environmental impacts of microplastics: An investigation of microplastic pollution in North Country waterbodies. Adventure Scientists. https://www.adventurescientists.org/uploads/7/3/9/8/7398741/haabhaab2016_environmental_impacts_of_microplastics.pdf     Maximenko, N., Chao, Y., & Moller, D. (2016). Developing a remote sensing system to track marine debris. Earth and Space Science News. https://eos.org/meeting-reports/developing-a-remote-sensing-system-to-track-marine-debris     Parker, L. (2018). Planet or plastic. National Geographic Magazine Online. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2018/06/plastic-planet-waste-pollution-trash-crisis/     Plastic Soup Foundation. (2019). Beat the microbead. https://www.beatthemicrobead.org     Simons Foundation Science Sandbox (Producer). (2019). World class explorers help scientists collect elusive data [Video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYNmwJlGnC4&t=42s     Van Sebille, E. (2013). Charting the garbage patches of the seas[video]. University of New South Wales .https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4UK9Yt6A-s&t=201s