Solutions to Plastic Pollution

 

The Theme of World Environment Day on June 5, 2023, was "Solutions to Plastic

Pollution" under the campaign #BeatPlasticPollution. World Environment Day

2023 is hosted by Côte d'Ivoire in collaboration with the Netherlands. Côte d'Ivoire

is showing leadership in the campaign against plastic pollution. Since 2014, it has

banned the use of plastic bags, supporting a shift to reusable packaging.

Globally More than 400 million tons of plastics are produced every year, but the

worst scenario was half of which was designed to be used only one time those

400 million tons of plastics, less than 10% is recycled. Around twenty million metric

tons of plastic end up in lakes, rivers, and seas, as well as the rest ends up in open

dumps, combusting into toxic smoke, or becoming one of the major threats to our

mother planet. A small amount of plastic was re-used.

In this article I would like to give you a brief introduction hidden section of plastic

pollution, Environmental pollution and Concerns from micro plastics, and it is one

of the main sections of that story about which we need to talk. Microplastics are

present in the food we eat, in the water we drink, and even in the air we breathe.

What is the meaning of microplastics?

“Microplastics” as the name implies, microplastics are tiny plastic particles and

are defined as plastics less than five millimeters (0.2 inches) in diameter. There

are two categories of microplastics: primary microplastics and secondary

microplastics.

 Primary Microplastics

Primary microplastics are tiny particles designed for commercial use, such

as cosmetics, microfibers shed from clothing, and other textiles, such as

fishing nets.

 Secondary Microplastics

Secondary microplastics are particles that result from the breakdown of

larger plastic items, such as water bottles. Secondary microplastics are

formed from the degradation and continuous fragmentation of larger

plastic components under environmental conditions.

Why do we need to talk about microplastics?

The problem with microplastics is that, like plastic items of any size, they can take

hundreds or thousands of years to decompose. Microplastics have been

detected in marine organisms, commercial seafood, and even drinking water.

Furthermore, standard water treatment facilities cannot remove all types of

microplastics. Scientists have warned that the situation is out of control through

their research and findings. They have found microplastics on mountains, in the

ocean, in our air, drinking water and Human bodies. More and more studies keep

emphasizing just how much of an impact they are having on the environment

and our health.

The main concern on microplastics pollution?

 Microplastics are not biodegradable. Thus, once in the environment, these

microplastics accumulate and persist, mainly in oceans and water

bodies.

 Due to their extremely small size, microplastics are not filtered by

standard wastewater treatment processes and float in freshwater

systems and finally in the oceans.

 Micro plastics present in the soil are also getting into freshwater systems,

through natural erosion.

 Microplastics are also a source of air pollution, occurring in dust and

airborne fibrous particles.

 Microplastics enter the human system through water, contaminated food,

inhalation of dust particles, the use of personal care products and

cosmetics as well as Once entered to aquatic environment, microplastics

could be taken up by a wide range of aquatic species, along with their food

or ingest mistakenly for food.

Only positive option is that we have science and solutions to tackle those

problems. At the end, this is not a day to promote Industries who are the creators

of the pollution with the eye catching flyers and promotions. This is the day to

understand the truth and change our behaviors towards to a sustainable future.

“It is the worst of times but it is the best of times, because we still have a chance”-

Sylvia Earle

(World renowned and one of first female oceanographers on plastic pollution.)

References:-

[1] https://www.worldenvironmentday.global/

[2] https://www.statista.com/chart/18299/how-we-eat-drink-and breathe-

microplastics

[3] https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/microplastics

Written by

Asitha Erandika

Undergraduate, Department of Civil and Environmental Technology

University of Sri Jayewardenepura.