Microplastics They're Everywhere

Microplastics are small fragments of plastic that are less than 5mm in size. Richard Thompson a marine biologist introduced the term microplastic, which started with his interest in marine debris. He and his team searched for the smallest sample of plastic they can find near the beach. They noticed that the small particles are not sand; later confirmed that they were plastic pieces.

How They Enter Our System? 

Microplastics are either formed by the fragmentation of larger plastic or produced industrially to use in our cosmetic, paints, fabrics, toothpaste and many more products.

Health Effects

Effect of microplastic on health and environment are one hand ahead than plastic we daily use. They have the tendency to pass from mother to fetus through placenta. Microplastic can leach harmful chemicals like bisphenol and phthalates that can interfere with the hormonal activity of men/women. Due to the hydrophobic nature of microplastic, it can accumulate chemicals like polychlorinated biphenyls, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and organochlorine pesticides that can cause cancer, weak immune system, and hormonal issues.

Microplastic In Consumer Products

They act as bulking agent, increasing volume of the product. They also help in controlling viscosity, adhesive strength, for aesthetics, and forming thick layers. Many countries like US, UK, Canada, Sweden, Finland, France, and Iceland already banned the use of microplastic in consumer products. India on the other hand, have some handful of research studies which proved microplastic unfit to use in consumer products still have no green flag from the government to ban this ingredient.

New Delhi based organization Toxic Link which has done their research on consumer products like Facewash, toothpaste, body wash, face mask, and leave on lotions confirmed 50% of facewash and 67% percent of facial scrubs contain microplastic.

How Can We Check Microplastic In Our Products?

Until the government banned this product, we should check ingredient in our product for microplastic. The most commonly used microbeads (microplastic) in India is Polyethylene(PE) beads. Other common microbeads are-

• Polyethylene terephthalate(PET)
• Polypropylene(PP)
• Polymethyl Methacrylate(PMMA)
• Nylon(PA)

How Much We Are Consuming?

According to WWF, on average we are consuming 100,000 microplastics every year which means we are consuming approximately 5gm (equivalent to credit card) a week and just more than 250gm per year. This varies according to where you live and your eating habits. In India more than 80% of tap water contains plastic fibers, which means 4 plastic fibers per 500 ml of water. A study on 259 bottled drinking water from 19 locations in 9 countries shows an average of 325 particles. In one bottle the concentration was 10,000 particles per liter. You must be thinking that this must be local companies, but NO all tested samples were from big brands like-Pepsico, Nestle, and Bisleri.

 A colorful microfibre of plastic found in bottled water

Steps We Can Take

Research shows that people who consume water from plastic bottles have more concentration of plastic particles in their body so first thing- Stop using plastic bottles. Cosmetic products contain microbeads that runoff and enter the ecosystem as microplastics so if you see any, discard them. Washing and machine drying synthetic- clothes also shred microplastic fibers, as a solution we can switch to non-synthetic fibers and air dry our clothes. Limit your consumption of Fish and Meat.

Plastic has already entered our system and become an inevitable part of lifestyle but why can’t we switch to more organic way? To deal with our requirements. Just because it’s cheap and available easily, that’s just crazy since we are spending far more money to recover from its effect.