The plastic we use unthinkingly every day is surely and slowly killing our planet.
The plastic we use unthinkingly every single day, the plastic we throw away without a moment’s thought, lives on within our environment. In nature, such plastic kills our wildlife, as many animals mistake it for food.
A research from the University of the South Pacific compared the offshore concentrations of microplastics with those closer to shore in Fiji, and they have found microplastics everywhere. In seawater, freshwater, in fish, crabs, molluscs and birds, in sediment from all over Fiji.
According to the research, microplastics were identified in two out of three fish sampled from the greater Suva inshore environment. One fish was discovered to have a whopping 68 particles in it. This is concerning, given that fish accounts for more than double the global average of animal protein consumption in the South Pacific.
It is also found that the plastics we use to keep our food fresh are also the ones poisoning it. Polyethylene. The most often used plastic on land can also be found in the water everywhere. The coastlines of Fiji are awash with polyethylene, regardless inshore or offshore. It can be seen that in 2017 alone, Fiji imported more than 2,000 tonnes of polyethylene.
We live in a material world and plastic is the prevailing symbol of modernism, but plastics are threatening our lives as they are ending up in our food. Therefore, attention must be drawn to the issue. This study, the first thorough assessment of microplastics in South Pacific surface waters, provided baseline data to help monitoring programmes for detecting environmental changes and evaluating plastic pollution reduction initiatives.
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