Concerning: Humans are eating plastics everyday

Microplastic refers to the debris left over when ordinary plastic materials break down into tiny particles invisible to the human eye. These plastics enter our body through the animal foods we eat, as these animals ingest the microplastics found in the environment. The plastics can also enter our body through plastic packaging and bottles that decompose into microplastics into air or liquid to be inhaled or drank by humans.

Research shows that people are consuming around 40,000 to 50,000 microplastic particles every year, which is around 250 grams every year. Furthermore, people who mainly drink bottled water are believed to be ingesting an extra 90,000 microplastic particles compared to the tap water estimate of around 4,000 particles. These ingested microplastics are not harmless and can release the toxic chemicals which were imbedded into them during their manufacturing, directly into the human body. These can cause negative immune responses and harm to human tissues.

The research into this area is still young and developing, however, it is increasingly becoming more important, as the amount of plastics that humans produce continues to sky-rocket.  The new research will be able to better define the impact of microplastics on the human body and to determine ways to significantly reduce human consumption.

In the meantime, people should take steps to be careful of what they themselves and what their loved ones are putting into their mouths. We can also take individual steps to recycle plastics wherever we can, to help reduce animals’ consumption of plastics from polluted environments.

Local governments all around Australia are currently seeking to rollout FOGO bins, made specifically for the purpose of recycling plastic into compost. The goal is to ultimately create a much healthier and sustainable societal lifestyle.

Reference:

https://www.wellandgood.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Cox-et-al.-2019-Human-Consumption-of-Microplastics.pdf https://pixabay.com/photos/animal-crisis-cow-5059182/