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You may not see it, but the microplastics are there and it's not yet known what they can cause

Edited and resized image of eluoec is available on Unsplash

Everyone knows that plastic is present in our daily lives, just look at cell phones, clothes, computers, food packaging, cosmetic jars, medical syringes, engineering equipment, medicine packaging, traffic lights, ornaments, glitter... This list could go on for lines and lines.

But what not everyone imagines is that there are microplastics in the air we breathe, in foods like salt or beer and even in the water we drink: around 83% of the world's tap water is contaminated with microplastics. One study found the tiny particles even in bottled water.

From the sole of the shoe to the air we breathe, there is no doubt about it, there is plastic everywhere. Islands become a plastic garbage dump, as do land and sidewalks. By 2050, the ocean could hold more weight in plastics than fish. The question is whether we are in the Anthropocene (the Age of Humanity) or in the Plastic Age. But it's true that different types of plastic have made our lives easier in many ways. However, just as there are pros, there are cons in relation to using this material.

And the cons are related to health problems generated in production, in daily contact with plastic and losses to the environment, including the case of incorrect disposal, which ends up being one of the sources of contamination of groundwater, air, soil, food, water, among others.

you don't see it but it's there

Edited and resized image from Oregon State University, is available on Flickr and licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

The danger is that when the plastic breaks down into small pieces, forming microplastics, it becomes invisible to the naked eye.

toxic

When escaping into the environment, microplastic acts as a trap for highly harmful persistent organic pollutants (POPs). Among these pollutants are PCBs, organochlorine pesticides, DDE and nonylphenol.

POPs are toxic and are directly linked to hormonal, immunological, neurological and reproductive disorders. They stay in the environment for a long time and, once ingested, have the ability to attach themselves to body fat, blood and bodily fluids of animals and humans.

Food chain

Image: "The cycle of petroleum" by Ingrid Taylar, licensed under CC BY 2.0

Ingesting contaminated microplastics is not very difficult since, since the end of World War II, they are already contaminating the environment and are now part of the food chain.

• Understand the environmental impact of plastic waste on the food chain

In Indonesia, fisheries workers are already consuming microplastic contaminated mussels. But it's not just Indonesia, the UK and Australia, mussels are also contaminated by microplastics. Whoever eats seafood regularly eats around 11,000 pieces of microplastics a year.

Bisphenols

Bisphenols, used on a large scale by industry, are present in paints, resins, cans, packaging and plastic materials in general. When they escape into the environment, glued to microplastics, in addition to the visual (before becoming microplastic) and physical pollution they cause, they generate chemical pollution. Once in the environment and in the body, bisphenol behaves as an endocrine disruptor, which can cause sterilization, behavioral problems, population reduction, among others.

• Know the types of bisphenol and their risks

Risk to animal life

When bisphenol-containing microplastics end up in the environment, they can cause reductions in populations of dolphins, whales, deer and ferrets, impair the development of bird eggs, cause sexual deformities in reptiles and fish, changes in amphibian metamorphosis and many other damages. Three surveys carried out at the Federal University of Pará (UFPA) showed that 30% of Amazonian fish have their intestines contaminated by microplastics.

harm to human health

Foods packaged in containers containing bisphenol become contaminated and, when we consume them, we also ingest bisphenol, which consumption is demonstrably associated with diabetes, polycystic ovary syndrome, cancer, infertility, heart disease, uterine fibroids, abortions, endometriosis, deficit attention, among other diseases. Research has confirmed that the human intestine is full of microplastics. Many of them, with the aforementioned bisphenol.

But how will microplastics end up in the environment?

When washing clothes

Edited and resized image of Bianca Jordan is available on Unsplash

A significant part of the clothes are made of synthetic plastic textile fibers - an example is polyester. During the washing of clothes, through mechanical shock, the microplastics detach and end up being sent to the sewer, ending up in bodies of water and the environment. If you think this is overkill, take a look at this study, which revealed that laundry washes made with synthetic fibers release microplastics.

ghost fishing

Ghost fishing , also called ghost fishing in English, this is what happens when equipment developed to capture marine animals such as fishing nets, lines and hooks are abandoned, discarded or forgotten at sea. These objects, most often made of plastic, put all marine life at risk, as once trapped in this type of contraption, the animal ends up injured, mutilated and killed slowly and painfully. Without profiting or feeding anyone, ghost fishing affects around 69,000 marine animals a day in Brazil. To ultimately be another source of microplastic. It is estimated that 10% of the plastic present in the ocean comes from ghost fishing. Learn more about this topic in the article: "Ghost fishing: the invisible danger of fishing nets".

Up in the air

Edited and resized image of Tamara Bellis is available on Unsplash

Plastic textile fibers, such as polyamide, will also end up in the air. A study carried out in Paris, France, estimated that every year about three to ten tons of plastic fibers arrive on the surfaces of cities. One of the explanations is that the simple friction of one member of the body with another, when the person is dressed in clothes made of synthetic plastic textile fibers, would be enough to disperse the microplastics in the atmosphere. This microplastic dust can be inhaled, join the steam and end up in your coffee cup and food plate, for example.

In tire friction

Edited and resized image of Varun Gaba is available on Unsplash

Tires on cars, trucks and other vehicles are made from a type of plastic called styrene butadiene. As they pass through the streets, the friction between these tires and the asphalt generates 20 grams of microplastic waste for every 100 kilometers traveled. To give you an idea, in Norway, one kilo of microplastic tire waste is generated per year per person.

Latex and acrylic paints

Edited and resized image by Paweł Czerwiński, is available on Unsplash

An investigative report showed that the plastic paint used in houses, cars and ships detaches from them through the elements and ends up in the ocean, forming a blocking layer of microplastics on the surface of the sea. To this, we can add latex and acrylic paints used in handicrafts and brushes washed in sinks.

• How to dispose of ink

Microspheres for cosmetics and hygiene products

Edited and resized image by Anastasiia Ostapovych , is available on Unsplash

Some soaps, creams, pastes, gels and exfoliating masks are an environmental hazard. These products are made of polyethylene microplastics which, after use, are directly discharged from the faucet into the sewer system. Even when there are treatment plants, the plastic microspheres of cosmetics are not retained by filtering particles, as they are very small, and end up in the ocean. The good news is that these products have already been banned in countries like England.

Nurdles

NoPetroPA-plastic-nurdles edited and resized image by TheNoxid, is in the public domain

Nurdles are small plastic balls used in the manufacture of various plastic items. Unlike plastic waste that degrades into microplastics , nurdles they are already made with a reduced size (about 5 mm in diameter). They are the most cost-effective way to transfer large amounts of plastic to end-use material manufacturers around the world. The problem is that ships and trains accidentally dump these pellets on roads or at sea; or the part that is left over from production is not treated properly. If a few thousand nurdles fall into the sea or on a highway, it is practically impossible to clean them. In a survey conducted in early 2017, they found nurdles on 75% of UK beaches.

Material similar to nurdles they are the pellets, made in the same way but in a cylindrical shape. You pellets they also end up in the environment due to transport losses and contaminate water bodies, soil and animals.

incorrect disposal

Edited and resized image by Brian Yurasits is available on Unsplash

During the year, at least eight million tons of plastic waste garbage that has been improperly disposed of (or that escapes by the wind) ends up in the world's oceans, lakes and rivers.

These wastes, if correctly routed for recycling, could return to the energy chain. But once in the ocean, they break down into microplastics and end up entering the food chain, including the human diet.

Every incorrectly discarded straw, bag, lid, label and packaging will break and form microplastics . Plastic doesn't disappear, it just gets smaller.

straws

Every day, one billion straws are discarded. In the United States alone, half a million straws are thrown away a day. If we use, for example, straws with a diameter of six millimeters, the volume occupied by the total used by Brazilians in one year would be equivalent to a cube with a 165 meter edge, 50 meters taller than the Copan building, in São Paulo. They are estimated to make up about 4% of all plastic found in the ocean. When they end up in the environment (even when discarded in landfills, they can be blown away by the wind), before becoming microplastic, they end up in the body of animals, including the nostrils of turtles. He knew more about the topic in the article: "Plastic straw: impacts and alternatives to consumption".

What to do?

• The first step is to reduce plastic consumption as much as possible;
• Do not consume marine animals and contribute to initiatives that remove fishing nets and other plastics from the sea;
• Avoid consuming food stored in plastic containers;
• Swap your plastic toothbrush for a bamboo one;
• Try using cloth pads or menstrual cups;
• If you are a parent, try consuming biodegradable or cloth diapers;
• Instead of synthetic fiber fabrics, use organic cotton;
• When buying food, cosmetics and products in general, prefer those that come in glass, paper or unpackaged packaging, such as shampoos and bar soaps;
• Reuse! practice the upcycling a way to reinvent objects;
• Be a practitioner of plogging, the sustainable race
• Be careful with the reuse of water bottles, see why in the article: "Plastic water bottle: dangers of reuse" - use non-disposable bottles to transport your water;
• Zero the consumption of superfluous plastic items such as straws, glitter, disposable cups, bags, etc;
• Pick it up and give it a ride. Each more car is synonymous with more microplastics in air and water;
• Zero the consumption of cosmetics with synthetic exfoliants, replace them with natural recipes such as coffee grounds. Check out 6 recipes for homemade scrubs;
• Rethink your consumption and what you can do to reduce plastic in your life;
• Give priority to biodegradable plastics;
• Dispose of correctly and send for recycling;
• Meet the New Plastics Economy, an initiative that, applying the principles of the Circular Economy, brings together important sectors of the plastic sector to rethink and reformulate the future, starting with packaging;
• Pressure companies and governments to reduce the use of plastic, use returnable packaging and with design less harmful (such as packaging with an attached lid) and guarantee the return of the used plastic to the production chain. After all, not all recyclable plastic that is properly disposed of is recycled.

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