Activity 3.3.3 – My Plastic Use

 Activity 3.3.3 – My Plastic Use

    Microplastics are plastics that are very tiny, invisible to the naked eye. Microplastics come from many places and sources but the most common are from industrial waste. They are so small and plentiful, they are everywhere on the planet already. They are light (weight wise) enough to be carried by wind or water and are very common in the ocean.  Unfortunately, it has been recently found that microplastics are also in our bloodstream and may be causing problems that we do not yet understand.

Microplastics exist because of the plastics we create and use. Humans create plastics for a large variety of uses, whether it be a bag of chips, a shower curtain, a mouse pad, fans, chairs, cooking utensils or even cars. This all started after world war II. It was found that plastics had more use than in just a militarized setting and people accommodated them into common life almost immediately.  They would have not been alive to see the consequences of this plastic explosion. 

Nowadays the plastic that is being used mostly goes into landfills or gets recycled but that is not enough to stop microplastics from being created. Microplastics are harmful to every aspect of life on earth. It harms the environment because it can kill animals and destroy soil in areas with high concentrations of plastics. It can also harm humans and microplastics have even been credited with a couple of harmful illnesses. Considering that plastic use is going up year after year, this trend will not end soon unless people begin to understand the problems that come with using plastics for everything. Humans have also been found to carry microplastics in their blood which is very bad news.

One of the most important objectives we should have to keep microplastics from entering our blood is by stopping the ingestion of microplastics themselves. Many food articles are packed in bags or other containment materials that are made of plastic which can lead to us ingesting the plastics. Also, sodas and water bottles come in bottles made with plastic so we are both drinking and eating microplastics with almost every meal. The best way to prevent this is by changing the packaging to something that is not made out of plastics. Maybe a glass replacement would work best because it is also easily recycled and reused over and over again. 

Environmental factors are not the only problem that comes with microplastics. The fact that people can be affected is what is getting people to notice the problems surrounding the excessive use of plastic. If a human ingests large amounts of microplastics they can suffer a variety of illnesses and symptoms. These effects go as far as potentially leading to cancers, drastic inflammations and potentially other unknown effects. Nowadays this is especially bad news because we semi-recently found out that microplastics also end up in the bloodstream. In the future it may be found out that microplastics in the blood may enable obesity, lower sperm count, and increase the odds of genetic deformities in babies. We must town down the uses of plastics and continue recycling to a higher level.

Explanation: ONE DAY

I went through my house looking for all of the plastic items I use everyday. Most of them are obvious like  the plastic skittle bag, the comb and the mouse/headphones. Some of them are not so obvious, my blue ladder is made out of both metal and plastic, my pool has plastic walls and even the keys on my keyboard are made of plastic. Plastic really is everywhere and I did not have to look far for plastic items I use everyday.