Microplastics on their way to damaging the ecosystem and living beings

How microplastics and microbeads are negatively affecting our world.

They seem quite harmless with their maximum five millimetres in size. Microplastics can result from different sources. The most obvious is when larger pieces of plastic are being washed over by water, they are exposed to sunlight, hot temperatures, or humid weather. This way, little plastic particles are being created. However, there is also another type of microplastics called microbeads. Those are plastic particles of polyethylene plastic, and they can be found in rather unobvious sources- cosmetics and personal care products. Most often this includes shampoos, soaps, exfoliators, cleansers, lotions, sunscreens, toothpastes, makeup, and deodorants. In a study from 2017 it is determined that between 0.1% to 4.1% of the microplastic pollution in the marine environment in Europe consist of microplastics from cosmetic products. This translates into annually 2,400 to 8,600 tonnes of plastics that are entering the oceans. Currently, 11 million tonnes of plastics are leaking into the ocean every year on a global level. In the next 20 years this number might even triple if nothing is going to be done against the plastic pollution. What makes plastics so dangerous is that they are not biodegradable and therefore only break down into little pieces resulting into micro- or even nanoplastics. Additionally, the United Nations Environment Programme reported that plastic particles in cosmetic products are not possible to be recycled. The problem is that microplastics are so tiny that filter systems cannot sort them out. This way, the microplastics freely enter into the atmosphere as well as oceans without ever degrading.

The impacts of microplastics have not yet been fully researched. Nevertheless, GESAMP, a group of experts on marine environmental protection, found out that microplastics can indeed have harming effects on marine organisms. They can negatively affect the digestion, development, and reproduction of marine life as microplastics toxify their natural habitat. Also, humans are affected by microplastics. They absorb the little particles through the air, water, food and even through the skin. This led to studies already finding microplastics in our lungs, kidneys, livers, spleens and also placentas.

Even though the full extent of the negative impact of microplastics is not yet known, it is certain that it damages the environment, vital functions of animals and our health. Therefore, immediate actions and solutions are required.

What are your ideas to eliminate microplastics from our ecosystem?

Sources:

Hirst, D. and Bennett, O., "Microbeads and microplastics in cosmetics and personal care products", House of Commons Library, January 04, 2017, https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-7510/CBP-7510.pdf, accessed 24 November 2021

NOAA, "What are microplastics?", NOAA, June 26, 2021, https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/microplastics.html, accessed 24 November 2021

UN Environment Programme, "From Pollution to Solution", UN Environment Programme, October 21, 2021, https://www.unep.org/interactive/pollution-to-solution/, accessed 24 November 2021

WHOI, "Marine Microplastics", WHOI, February 06, 2021, https://www.whoi.edu/know-your-ocean/ocean-topics/pollution/marine-microplastics/, accessed 24 November 2021

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