Microplastics are extremely tiny fragments of plastic waste having a diameter smaller than five millimeters. Professor of Marine Biology and Director of the University’s Marine Institute Richard Thompson was the first to identify their long-term accumulation and coin the term “microplastics” in his seminal study, “Lost at Sea: Where Is All the Plastic?,” published in 2004. Microplastics can be found in a variety of places, including bigger plastic waste that breaks down into ever-tinier fragments. Moreover, microbeads, a subset of microplastic, are little bits of synthetic polyethylene plastic that are added as exfoliants to several toothpastes and cleansers in the health and beauty industry. These minute particles are so small that they can easily get through water filtering systems and wind up in the Great Lakes and ocean, potentially endangering aquatic life.
Tourism is also jeopardized by debris and rubbish seen on the beach. Tourists obviously do not want to sunbathe close to empty Coke bottles and plastic blags flying about their faces. If a beach becomes increasingly polluted, fewer people are likely to visit it and contribute to the economy. According to a 1988 study, “as a result of marine debris washing ashore, New Jersey lost between $379 million and $3.6 billion in tourism and other earnings.” Furthermore, a lot of money is spent on cleaning up beaches and contaminated areas.
The Environmental Working Group, an environmental non-profit, conducted an analysis in 2022 and discovered that sewage sludge had contaminated nearly 20 million acres of US cropland with (PFAS), also known as “forever chemicals” because they are frequently found in plastic products and do not decompose under normal environmental conditions. When municipal wastewater has been cleansed, sewage sludge is what is left over. Sludge is frequently used as organic fertilizer in Europe due to its high nutrient content and pricey disposal. According to a Cardiff University study, as a result of this practice, European agriculture may be the largest global repository of microplastics.
Moreover, food crops might be directly harmed by plastic particles. A 2020 study in Italy discovered microplastics and nanoplastics in produce purchased from local vendors as well as in supermarket-purchased fruit and vegetables. Carrots had the greatest concentrations of microplastics among the studied vegetables, and apples were the most polluted fruit.
The existence of microplastics in fish, earthworms, and other species is disturbing, but the true danger occurs when microplastics linger—especially if they travel from the gut into the circulation and other organs. Physical harm, such as inflammation, has been detected by scientists as a result of particles jabbing and rubbing against organ walls. Researchers have also discovered evidence that ingested microplastics can leach dangerous compounds, including those added to polymers during production as well as ambient contaminants such as pesticides that are attracted to the surface of plastic, causing health effects such as liver damage.
Yet, because the issue is already quite significant, it is difficult to predict how it will be resolved because there are so many variables to take into account. We can’t possibly remove the plastic granules produced by the biomagnification process or clean up smaller fragments from something as large as the ocean. But nevertheless, we can at least make an effort to stop this problem from occurring.
This issue is one that I feel doesn’t get talked about enough. It’s also one that seems too big to be resolved. I would be really interested to hear about how people are trying to reverse this outbreak and if there is any possibility of resolving this issue.
I had heard of microplastics before reading this post but did not really know how it was affecting the environment. The existence of microplastics inside of organisms like fish and earthworms is the issue that I find most concerning, and I hope that we can figure out a way to stop this from continuing to happen.
I first heard about microplastics while watching a David Attenborough documentary and was shocked by how prevalent they are. It freaks me out to know that we have now produced enough plastic waste that it is not only killing innocent animals, it is actually getting into our water and food supplies. It’s also frightening that only a small percentage of the population actually knows that they might be physically harmed by plastic waste. It’s great to see someone else trying to share this knowledge!
This is a really eye opening post. I knew that microplastics are very harmful for the environment, but I did not know it was this bad. Hopefully we can implement laws that will actually help the problem and save our waterways!
I think microplastics are a difficult issue to tackle, given plastic in general is such an important part of our lives (it’s everywhere). As you mentioned, there are so many factors that go into it. I don’t know if it’d be possible to reverse any of the harm already done, but I think we should looking to reduce our use of plastic now and in the future. This was definitely an eye opening post. I never really considered the effects that microplastics can have on tourism and the economy.