“Of all the plastic produced since the 1950s, less than 10% has been recycled. The vast majority ends up being dumped, most of it in landfill. Some is left to litter the natural environment, where it can get into rivers and wash out into the sea. Scientists estimate that perhaps 8m tonnes of plastic waste enters the ocean each year, discharged by rivers or shed from ships. Some, though, is carried by currents to mid-ocean gyres.”1
Plastics have been found in the air we breathe, food we eat and water we drink. Research studies have found that bottled drinking water is contaminated with small particles of plastics. “The industrial bottling process may be to blame. Sherri Mason and her team at the State University of New York at Fredonia analyzed 259 bottles from nine countries and found 93% of the bottles showed signs of microplastic contamination. Microplastics are defined as any plastic less than 5millimetres in size, although Mason said this definition is shifting to less than 1millimetre. Her team found an average of 325 microplastic particles per litre of water that were less than 0.1millimetre in size — about the width of a human hair. Tap water had mostly fibres of plastic, whereas the bottled water had mostly fragments — rough pieces of plastic with sharp edges. The data seems to suggest that at least some of the plastic contamination may be coming from the industrial process of bottling the water itself.”2
“Humans are known to consume the tiny plastic particles via food and water, but the possible health effects on people and ecosystems have yet to be determined. One study, in Singapore, has found that microplastics can harbour harmful microbes. The National University of Singapore found more than 400 types of bacteria on 275 pieces of microplastic collected from local beaches. They included bugs that cause gastroenteritis and wound infections in humans, as well as those linked to the bleaching of coral reefs.”3 Such tiny particles can penetrate cells and move into human tissues and cells.
The Austrian Environment Agency and the University of Vienna have analyzed stool samples of people from eight different countries and have found evidence of microplastics. “On average, the researchers discovered 20 microplastic particles per 10g of human waste. At the annual United European Gastroenterology meeting, Dr. Philipp Schwab said: “This is t he first study of its kind and confirms what we have long suspected that plastics ultimately reach the human gut.” Experts fear the presence of microplastics in the body may damage the immune system, trigger inflammation and help carry toxins such as mercury or pesticides. Some biologists have suggested they could make their way into the bloodstream and move around the body and also be a vector for transporting contaminants and other pollutants.”4
Our synthetic clothing and household constantly sheds microfibres. Scientists around the world have now begun research into airborne plastic contamination and the physical breakdown of plastic litter washed by rain into rivers and the sea. Or blown by wind and end up in farmers’ fields. Of chief concern is the human health impacts of nanoplastics, which are invisible particles of degraded microplastics.
1Marine Litter, The Economist; September 15th 2018
2 Far More Microplastics in Bottled Water than Tap, National Post; March 16th 2018
3 Microplastic Pollution revealed absolutely everywhere…, The Guardian; March 7th 2019
4 The Hidden Danger in our Food and Drink, National Post; November 1st 2018