Micro Plastics : The Creation Of The Modern Consumer Age

Undoubtedly, as we are stepping towards advancement with technology every day, we are getting exposed to more pollution levels in our life. Water, air and earth, in all these forms of society we are experiencing rapidly growing pollutions. In water, we are experiencing a huge number of unwanted disposals of all sorts from the cruise ships or any private boat. A lot of people now a days doesn't have any idea where to dispose proper wastes. For example, if we go to a grocery store like Walmart or Target, we see big trashcans with it's purpose written on it. There are certain trashcans that are only meant for plastic disposing while some of them are for recyclable objects. People need to educate themselves with this basic things. Not only these, if we look at the bigger picture, in third world countries, earth or soil pollution is one of the major environmental problems. People throwing garbages everywhere on the side of streets, urinating on the side of the street, spitting everywhere are the major habits people are having over the years.

In fact, we throw away 2 billion disposable razors and 16 billion disposable diapers each year, this number growing each year as our hyper consumption of disposable products continues. Roughly eighty percent of all household trash goes to landfills, which are hazards unto themselves. Toxic chemicals leak out of the landfills and contaminate ground water and surface water. Also, space for new landfills is constantly needed, but no one wants a landfill near them, thus creating political problems and angry citizens ( Bormann and Kellert 100-102). Although some disposable products, such as plastic cups and cameras, can be recycled, the recycling rates are still quite low ( only thirty percent of household waste gets recycled). Britt Anne Bernheim, in her article "Can We Cure Our Throwaway Habits by Imposing the True Social Cost on Disposable Products?", brings up another negative point about disposables.

There is rising unease about throwing out plastic products as well as the accumulation of plastic products in our oceans and landfills. This poses problems for all species in the environment, such as animals becoming tangled in smaller products, organisms consuming the products, or transferring chemicals directly to humans in the surrounding environment. Plastic products being dumped into landfills is not sustainable for our present and future environment. A small amount of fossil fuels is being used to create plastic products. The fossil fuels are practically wasted because the products are cheaply made and are thrown out shortly after purchase. Depleting the amount of fossil fuels, rapidly filling up landfills, and manufacturing briefly used plastic products is not sustainable for our environment. Increasing the amount of recycling, cutting down on plastic production, and reducing on the amount of littering are all valuable solutions to cut down the amount of plastic in landfills. (Thompson, Moore, vom Saal,

Opting for paper instead of plastic when one is able can be a great start. All over the world more places are gradually shifting to paper bags and banning plastic ones. California being one of the first states to recognize a plastic bag ban has the potential for lasting impacts given that in the Los Angeles area alone, 10 metric tons of plastic fragments are carried into the Pacific Ocean every day (Harth Richard). As more studies are being conducted and more information is being made public about the detrimental effects humanities over-consumption of plastic is having, some scientists are making attempts to make plastic safer and more sustainable. Some innovators are developing bioplastics, which are made from plant crops instead of fossil fuels. Others are working to make plastic truly biodegradable and some are looking for ways to make recycling more efficient (The History and the Future of

150,000 tons of plastic are littered into our ocean each year, yet we do nothing to stop it. Plastic is capable of being deformed continuously and permanently in any direction without rupture, making it almost impossible for the plastic to disintegrate. Our population uses plastic for almost everything, once these objects are used they are left in the street, beaches, and other places, natural sources then carry the objects into the oceans. There, the plastic becomes stuck in currents, where it takes years to disintegrate. The only people benefiting from this are companies who produced the plastic. The problem is this plastic is harming marine life. Some simple solutions to this include using reusable water bottles instead of plastic water

Microplastic is used in so many types of beauty products all over the world. Lots of Microplastic gets washed down the sink and into the ocean. People don't think of this because of the mental thought 'out of sight out of mind'. But Microplastic is causing many problems to many oceans and great lakes. This will affect the aquatic food chain from the tiniest plankton to us humans.

“The amount of plastic the world consumes annually has steadily risen over the past seventy years, from almost nil in 1940 to closing in on six hundred billion pounds today. We became plastic people really just in the space of a single generation” (Freinkel, 2011, p. 7). This quote is from the first chapter of Susan Freinkel ’s book, Plastic: A Toxic Love Story. She talks about how much plastic has taken over our world, but specifically in the past decade, she notes, we have produced more plastic than we did the entire 20th century (Freinkel, 2011, p. 10).

The average American creates about one hundred-thirty pounds of trash a month, and an article in the journal Nature estimates that global solid-waste generation will triple, to eleven million tons a day, by the year 2100 (Semuels). Plastic does not break down; it’s not biodegradable nor does it

One of the main arguments to support this claim, is that microplastics are a cheap and light material to use in consumer products, which can reduce shipping and manufacturing cost for companies worldwide and provides jobs for thousands in the European Union alone (Alexander-White, 2). This boosts the economy and additionally allows more consumers to be able to afford cosmetic and hygiene products. However, this claim should be questioned in every aspect. Though it does slightly boost a specific market, the use of these microplastics is detrimental to a large part of the world’s economy, the fishing industry. Additionally, no economic boost can make up for the irreversible problems these plastics cause to the environment. In no way should the eradication of microplastics from consumer products be questioned. The environmental problems alone can speak for this, but in addition to the economic and health threats these materials cause, the decision is clear. Microplastics should not be used in consumer products in order to protect the welfare of our

Microbeads are a type of pollutant that can cause great environmental harm to both wildlife and even ourselves. Microbeads are small bits of plastic used in many various products the most common being personal care products. They are designed to be washed down the drain and the water treatment facilities are not designed to stop these pollutants. There have been a few states to ban the product altogether and we are moving quickly to fix the problem I became interested in this topic related to environmental science due to my interest in politics. I had a few friends who were involved in the recent California ban and I felt like I should educate myself on the topic.

Xanthos, D., & Walker, T. R. (2016;2017;). International policies to reduce plastic marine pollution from single-use plastics (plastic bags and microbeads): A review. Marine Pollution Bulletin, doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.02.048

When PCBs from plastics pollute the environment, they may contaminate water sources and become ingested by fish. The chemicals ingested by fish are then stored in fatty tissue and bioaccumulate up the food chain. Thus, humans who consume fish and other seafood may be consuming PCBs as well. Another key route of PCB exposure lies in the use of PCB­containing personal care products. An increasing number of personal care products including facial scrubs, soaps, and toothpastes contain thousands of microplastics in the form of plastic microbeads. These beads are then flushed down drains and make their way into the environment via poor disposal methods or by other means as part of their intended use (PCBs and Human Health, 2016).

As the United States deals with the overwhelming amounts of waste building up, Nitin et al explain that “plastics take anywhere from 15 to 1000 years to biodegrade” once they are discarded (Nitin). Changes in recycling methods can no longer keep up with the exorbitant amount of waste produced in the United States. This is why some states choose to take their initiative one step further by placing either fees or a ban on the use of plastic bags. Due to the enormous waste the United States produces on a daily basis and the negative outcomes of this trash including adverse health effects, harmful impacts on nature, and the exponential piling of trash in landfills, the US government should ban plastic bags.

Microbeads are tiny bits of plastic they are frequently used in all sorts of everyday care products such has face wash, toothpaste, and boconcerns dy washes such as scrubs. It can also be found in the food we consumed a lot of cleaning products we use have microbeads in them too. The world has a very large issue with plastic over use. Plastic is an item that nearly all products are made from, we use plastic everyday but is it actually healthy or good for the planet in the long run? Microbeads have come up many times on the New Zealand news over the past few months with people sharing their worries and about microbeads and advising that they should be banned from the country. Scientist are also suggesting that there are not many positives for microbeads and there are far too many very bad consequences for microbeads to be ignored.

With the combination of polymers that don’t biodegrade and mass overproduction, companies are harming the environment in severe ways. Plastic, a material seen everywhere, is a polymer made from oil. It is mass produced to make everything from shampoo bottles to automobiles and does not biodegrade. When it is eventually thrown out, the waste usually finds it way into the ocean, where it is either buried under sediment or eaten by marine life (Weisman 287-295). Creating a material that will ultimately kill marine life will undoubtedly wreak havoc on the