Activity 3.3.3 – My Plastic Use

 What Is Microplastics?

After in-depth reading, reviewing resources, and taking notes, I have learned that fresh water is one of the most important resources and one of the most abused. Water has faced continuous threats of pollution and because of it types of pollution have evolved and expanded over time. A little background information about plastic is that before 1950, plastic was barely a part of American life. Modern plastic came to be more produced and used during World War two. It wasn’t until the early 60s that global plastic production increased by 40%, and by 1979 more plastic was being produced than steel. And in 2014 100 billion plastic bags were used in the USA. Just imagine how much plastic we use now in 2023. What is microplastic? Microplastics are plastic particles of fibers smaller than five millimeters in size and are one of the many environmentally detrimental outcomes of modern society's widespread use of plastics. Plastics are made of polymers, which are long, flexible chains of chemical compounds. Microplastics are common additives to personal care and cosmetic products and are also produced from the use of synthetic fibers and textiles. Where can microplastics be found? Microplastics can be found in our blood, marine organisms, water, benches around the world, food, and homes. That being said, microplastics can be found everywhere. Microplastics can also be produced from the degradation and breakdown of microplastic debris, which commonly accumulates in aquatic environments due to improper waste disposal. Now you might be asking, how do they get there? Well, microplastic can be found in our blood system simply because we inhale and ingest enough microscopic pieces of plastic to create a credit card each week. Plastic particles can insert our bodies through our food, drinks, and from the air we simply breathe. Because microplastics are literally everywhere, and we ingest microplastics as well as breathe them, they may accumulate in our bodies and can cause a trigger to our immune systems which can cause further issues to our bodies. It can have toxic effects and is how they are problematic to humans. Microplastics are also not able to be removed by wastewater treatment plants. The impacts of micropollution threaten species' survival and our community structure. According to stats so far, some 700 species of marine animals have been reported to have eaten or been entailed in plastic. Currently, about 1/5 of all plastics are recycled. In conclusion, plastic has helped develop American life and modernize it to help us use it in helpful ways, but at what cost? Our environment is so plastic polluted that it’s even in our blood system, marine animals, and just everywhere. Where can we go from here? Finding solutions to help decrease the amount of microplastic there is, would be a great start. We could maybe even begin finding ways to alert Americans and inform them about such issue. I knew plastic has been a constant issue in the U.S., but only after today did I know the issue was bigger than it seemed. 

                                                 One Day Collage

This is my one-day collage of everyday use of plastic. After this assignment, I can say I have learned a lot about the amount of consumption of plastic Americans use. It's almost crazy just how much plastic we have used in the U.S. and how many others might not even be aware of it. This makes me wonder how much plastic we actually use in the whole world combined. 

Resources:

           Haab, S., & Haab, K. (n.d.). The environmental impacts of microplastics: An                              investigation of microplastic pollution in North Country waterbodies. Adventure                     Scientists. Available:  HABB and HABB_Microplastics.pdf

National Geographic Magazine. (n.d.). A brief history of how plastic has changed our worldLinks to an external site.. Environment: Planet or Plastics? https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/planetorplastic/#/1234356803947

Snider, M. (2022, March 24). Microplastics have been found in air, water, food and now...human blood. USA Today. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2022/03/25/plastics-found-inside-human-blood/7153385001/Links to an external site.