Microplastics: What They Are and How to Combat Them (A WiP Essay)

[Introspective Onlooker]

This was a long time coming, and I'll waste no more.

In 2004, marine biologist Professor Richard Thompson published a paper titled, Lost at Sea: Where Is All the Plastic? 20 years later, the public interest in these little plastic particles that we breathe in and eat in our food has grown exponential. Unfortunately, so have microplastics (MPs). We should strive to do more against this plastic menace and be responsible. It’s easier said than done, however, when much of the general populace is apathetic and don’t care enough to take this into consideration, so I'm hoping this reaches at least a sizeable portion of people I’m sending this letter to and hope it causes them to be more thoughtful with what they wear, what they buy, and their intake. Hopefully this won’t be a major waste of time…

Just for context, MPs are, you guessed it, microscopic particles of plastics five millimeters (around the size of a pencil eraser) or less. Nanoplastics, which are no more than 1,000 nanometers (or a single micrometer), meaning they are undetected with the naked eye, are small enough to infiltrate cells and tissue.

These tiny plastic things are everywhere. There isn’t a place that isn’t covered by microplastics. Since they’re in the very air we breathe, and they can be released when clothing made up of polyester, acrylic, or nylon are worn, it makes the spread worse.

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I'm hardly scratching the surface. There is much more I want to write about. Much, much more. Videos I wanted to post. I'll save this until after 2024 is finally over with. Might as well be satisfied with this unfinished piece. This was primarily typed on Google Docs.

Citations:
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1094559
https://www.epa.gov/water-research/microplastics-research#:~:text=Plastics have become pervasive in,and human and animal tissue.
https://epa.illinois.gov/topics/water-quality/microplastics.html#:~:text=Background and Sources of Microplastics,found in the natural environment.&text=Some common sources of secondary,of tires on road surfaces
https://www.vu.lt/en/news-events/ne...ce-on-earth-where-microplastics-are-not-found

 

[Nuguns]

I have made an interesting discovery about size with the size of micro plastics for reference. For the first time Im able to visualize nanometer. Visible light waves are particles that move in a wave form, The size of that wave, is in nanometers. Neon green, is 515nm. Dark blue is 445nm. 485nm is cyan. Red is 640nm+. 575nm is yellow. Our eyes perceive such a small thing as color. If you can visualize those, you can think of the size of light waves entering your eye.

I am also upset about plastics too. They have been grossly overused. There needs to be strict regulation for industry to only make recyclable plastics to begin with. The problem with recycling is theres too many kinds roaming around. If there were only one type made in packaging, then it would be easy and cheap to recycle all of it.

 

[nightglow]

I have made an interesting discovery about size with the size of micro plastics for reference. For the first time Im able to visualize nanometer. Visible light waves are particles that move in a wave form, The size of that wave, is in nanometers. Neon green, is 515nm. Dark blue is 445nm. 485nm is cyan. Red is 640nm+. 575nm is yellow. Our eyes perceive such a small thing as color. If you can visualize those, you can think of the size of light waves entering your eye.

I am also upset about plastics too. They have been grossly overused. There needs to be strict regulation for industry to only make recyclable plastics to begin with. The problem with recycling is theres too many kinds roaming around. If there were only one type made in packaging, then it would be easy and cheap to recycle all of it.

I was under the impression plastic can only be recycled so many times. I did hear about a worm of some kind having the ability to eat and digest plastic. No idea if that is harmless to the worm or not, nor have I heard whether this has been studied about more or not. I think there may be a fungus too that eats plastic but I am unsure on that one.
Glass is a good way to avoid plastic, but it is considered more expensive to make, and then there is the cost and time of collecting used bottles and transporting. I heard that supposedly there is the risk of too much sand disappearing from beaches too.

 

[BetsySundrop]

So, my husband works in an environmental laboratory, where they test for a lot of things like pfas, etc. He HATES plastic. And it's a very strong hate.

We used to use plastic containers for things like leftovers, now it's glass. We have a lot of Mason jars and glass containers. Tbh I like glass better - lasts forever, easier to keep track of and organize. We haven't replaced everything, but we do keep our eyes out for better, non-plastic things.

He also won't drink out of plastic. I made the mistake once of telling him "but honey, it's bpa free". The look on his face. Haha, oops. I didn't tend to think of all the plastic, but then when he started pointing out all the plastics/ chemicals around the house - it's a bit disturbing to realize just how toxic all of it can be, especially when added up. And apparently microplastics are horrible for chemicals leaching into the environment.

 

[Introspective Onlooker]

I was hoping for people to wait for me to finish the thread before replies came in... oh, well. I can still get it finished; give me another week or two.