The world has hardly begun to understand what to do with plastics. Since its invention in the 19th Century, plastic has spread like a disease, used in everything from water bottles to cigarette filters. Each year, 430 million tons of plastic are churned out. We bury it, we recycle it, and it escapes into the sea.
And, some of it is buried in the cells of your lungs. Nanoplastics, they call them, particles so small that human hair is about 80 times wider. Take a liter of bottled water: there will be about a quarter of a million particles of nanoplastic in it. Drink up, and let your lungs soak them up.
We have hardly studied the damage they do to human organs.
We do know that some plastics can decompose in as little as 450 years. Want to wait around?
But, perhaps the most shocking thing is that the recycling process might release nanoplastics. Whether you grind the plastic or decompose it with the use of chemicals, what do we know about how many nanoplastics particulates are released into the air?
One begins to wonder: Are we better off placing plastics in the regular garbage can than in recycler containers? Or is it half a dozen of one and six of another? Science, step in. Not enough studies have been done. We are babes in the learning process when it comes to plastics.
(Index -- Climate change info)
No comments:
Post a Comment