What’s the Most Devastating Effect of Microplastic? It’s Everywhere…
Microplastics, tiny bits of plastic bits destroying our environment, are everywhere. They have been found even in the most remote places, here’s what you need to know.
Estimated Read Time: 6 minutes
Microplastics are everywhere. They’re been found in the deepest part of the ocean to the summit of Mt. Everest to fresh snow in the Antarctic. It’s in the products we use, the water we drink, and it’s estimated we consume about a credit card’s worth of plastic every week!
Plastic has certainly modernized society and helped to advance civilization, but it's clear there’s a problem with plastic pollution. We need to start thinking about the effects of microplastics on the environment and on ourselves.
What Is Microplastic
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Microplastic is considered a piece of plastic with a diameter less than 5 millimeters (mm) and nanoplastic particles measure less than 1-2 micrometers. (For reference there are 1,000 micrometers in 1 mm).
It’s estimated that as of 2015, 15-51 trillion pieces of microplastic were present in Earth’s oceans.
But how did microplastics get everywhere? Where are they coming from?
How Do Microplastics Get Into the Environment
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Microplastic pollution has been a problem since the first plastic product was used in the early 1900’s, but it wasn’t ‘discovered’ until the 1970’s, and it wasn’t studied until the past handful of years. Seriously, like within the past 5 years.
As you can imagine, due to their micro size, it’s difficult for scientists to study nano and microplastic pollution.
We do know microplastics can easily be blown around by the air, swept down streams and rivers, and even come from the products we use. So basically, they’re coming from every direction all the time.
Microplastic pollution comes from several sources:
- Exfoliants used in personal care products
- Synthetic FIbers
- Tires
- Dust from human activity
- Plastic granules (AKA nurdles)
- Single-use plastic
The particles are so small they slip right past water treatment plants, gates and grilles on dams, or the wind blows them across the world.
Personal Care Products
It’s estimated that 90% of personal care products contain plastic microbeads. When you use these products (toothpaste, scrubs, lotions, sunscreen, deodorants, etc) the beads either rub off or wash down the sink or shower.
Synthetic Fibers
Fabrics shed in the washing machine. This is typical for all fabrics and natural fibers such as cotton, wool, and others will eventually degrade. But synthetic fibers never will; they’ll live on as long as their plastic counterparts. They run through the water treatment facility too small to be captured and are released with the clean water where they make their way into waterways, oceans, and tap water.
Tires
The average tire can contain over 100 components including natural rubber, synthetic rubber, nylon, & petroleum. As a tire wears down it breaks into smaller micro pieces AKA — you guessed it — microplastics.
Human Dust
Not to be confused with country dust; city dust makes up 24% of microplastics in the ocean and is a byproduct of people living life in plastic. Dust used to transport nutrients, it’s now carrying microplastics. And not just a couple, a biogeochemist set out to study how the wind blows nutrients and instead found an estimated 1,000 tons of microplastics deposited by the wind into the U.S. West & National Parks every year.
That’s the equivalent of 300 million water bottles!
Nurdles
With a name this fun, it’s too bad it doesn’t represent something much cooler than a plastic lentil. Nurdles are the base of pretty much every other plastic product and their size makes them easy to pollute. 0.3% of all ocean microplastic pollution is in the form of nurdles.
Microplastics Are Everywhere
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Microplastics have shown up in the most remote areas, even ones untouched by human activity.
They’ve been found in:
- The Arctic Shelf
- The Mariana Trench
- Rain
- Our Food
- Our Blood
- Our Lungs
The Effects of Microplastics on the Environment
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Microplastics are bad for the environment because they’re nearly impossible to filter out or clean up entirely; they take hundreds if not thousands of years to degrade; and we haven’t been studying them long enough to know what all the effects are.
So yeah, it’s not great.
Marine animals in particular confuse these particles with food and fill up without getting any nutrients. This has the potential to work its way up the food chain, but also to eventually deplete marine animal populations.
Turtles have been found on beaches with more than 144 plastic particles inside their stomachs. Zooplankton exposed to microplastics and microfibers experienced less successful reproduction, produced half the amount of larvae and were smaller overall. Mice exposed to microplastics had fewer sperm count, a smaller litter, and the overall size of the babies was smaller.
So what have scientists discovered about the effects of microplastics on humans?
What Are the Effects of Microplastic Pollution on Us?
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Despite plastic being fossil-fuel based, coated in chemicals, and mixed with more chemicals to turn it into a product, there isn’t enough research about the effects it has on the human body.
Because of the lack of research, scientific opinions vary from ‘very concerned’ to ‘we aren’t exposed enough for it to matter’.
But the chemicals and materials that plastic is made with are toxic to the environment and to the human body. Bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates for instance are known endocrine disruptors which can lead to other conditions such as cancer, asthma, and metabolic disorders. Heavy metals have also been found on microplastic particles.
We are still in the early stages of research about whether microplastics cause severe harm to human health. The effects depend on the quantity of exposure, material of the plastic, the type of exposure, and the time of exposure.
What everyone can seem to agree on is that:
- More research needs to be done
- There is concern for the future
- We need to act now to prevent microplastic pollution from getting worse
What Can You Do About Microplastic Pollution
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Governments are making moves. In 2015, the FDA passed the Microbead-Free Waters Act of 2015 which, “prohibits the manufacturing, packaging, and distribution of rinse-off cosmetics containing plastic microbeads.” The Netherlands, the UK, Australia, Canada, Italy, Korea, New Zealand, & Sweden have all placed microbead bans as well.
What everyone can seem to agree on is that:
- More research needs to be done
- There is concern for the future
- We need to act now to prevent microplastic pollution from getting worse
Products to Help You Reduce Microplastic Waste
Guppyfriend Laundry Bag
Put your clothes inside the bag and it catches microfibers from your laundry.
ZWS Essentials Laundry Strips
Other brands of laundry sheets and detergents contain microplastics, ours does not!
Skincare Without Microbeads
Every we sell is plastic-free, inside and out. Checkout our skincare partners!
GOpure Pod Water Filter
You should always carry a reusable water bottle and if you don't know where you're going, keep a GOpure pod inside for instant filtration!
Other Blogs You Might Find Helpful:
- Want a Cleaner World? Let’s Do Something About the Environmental Effects of Plastic Pollution
- 18 Ways to Help You Have a Zero Waste Summer
- 7 Sustainable Clothing Brands That Complement Your Zero Waste Journey
- 11 Best Zero Waste Skincare Products of 2022 That Are Women Owned
- Create A Simple Skin Care Routine At No Cost To The Planet
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