microplastics

[capta]

I was grinding the copper bottom paint off boat bottoms w/o a mask, sleeping next to the fishing boat's exhaust pipe wrapped in asbestos, or painting antifouling boat bottom paint 8 hours a day, when I was a teen. We didn't know that it was really dangerous back then, and only a few of us chose to do those jobs.
Now it is microplastics for everyone, just for breathing.

 

[dLj]

I didn't know about microplastics and breathing - but the amount in water is tremendous!

dj

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

I just hang on to that old adage " What doesn't kill you makes you stronger".

 

[Project_Mayhem]

Did you get cancer?

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

Copper isn’t a carcinogen. Only friable asbestos is carcinogenic and the verdict on microplastics is uncertain. Of greater harm is the stress caused by worrying about them.

 

[danstanford]

The cow has left the barn in terms of your exposures during your life, but you can and will manage it from here on out.

I believe we have shifted our tendency to create microplastics in a big way but we can all make sure we re-cycle all of our plastics, pick up the garbage we see in the environment, and finally we can support well researched and sustainable policy by our governments with respect to controlling waste plastics. As consumers we can make choices that are healthier with respect to unnecessary packaging as that is the way to change the way manufacturers do things.

 

[Project_Mayhem]

The cow has left the barn in terms of your exposures during your life, but you can and will manage it from here on out.

I believe we have shifted our tendency to create microplastics in a big way but we can all make sure we re-cycle all of our plastics, pick up the garbage we see in the environment, and finally we can support well researched and sustainable policy by our governments with respect to controlling waste plastics. As consumers we can make choices that are healthier with respect to unnecessary packaging as that is the way to change the way manufacturers do things.

If only waste management companies actually recycled the recycling. An astonishing amount is simply trashed

 

[dlochner]

If only waste management companies actually recycled the recycling. An astonishing amount is simply trashed

It gets trashed for a number of reasons including contaminated plastics and lack of market. Even if only 10% of plastics submitted for recycling actually get recycled, that's more than if the plastic was trashed in which case 0% of the plastic is recycled.

Consumers can affect the recycling rate by purchasing products made with recycled materials and following the recycling guidelines. Recently I was shopping for outdoor clothing and noticed companies like Patagonia and REI had a lot of clothing made of recycled materials. Marlow ropes makes line from recycled polyester. I purchased some and it is nice line and is easily spliced.

 

[Michael Davis]

Hard to believe that a product that has only been around for 85 years is so pervasive. Also almost indistructable. If we ingest enough of it will we last forever?

 

[thinwater]

... Marlow ropes makes line from recycled polyester. I purchased some and it is nice line and is easily spliced.

The recycled material is trimmings, not post-consumer plastics.

As for non-recycled plastics ...

• In most cases, at least the non-recycled plastic is disposed of properly (landfill or waste-to-energy) and not left to breakdown and get into the food chain.
• Part of the problem is "wish-cycling."
  • People believe things are recyclable, without confirmation, that are not, thinking they will be green. In most areas, most plastics and metals are not recyclable for some practical reason (for example, mixed in the product).
  • People put things in the recycle bins that are clearly not recyclable under the local agreement. For example, locally only PET and polyethylene are recyclable, and only from specific, highly recognizable packaging types. Soda bottles, water bottles, and milk bottles. Everything else is sorted as trash.
• Plastic bottles collected during outdoor cleanups are NOT actually recycled. Once they have been in the sun for a few weeks, the polymer is damaged and would not make a good rope or fleece jacket. The recycler will quietly discards the collected bottles, generally not telling the collection volunteers. We all want to feel good. They only want the bottles that go straight from kitchen-to-bin, without spending weeks in the sun.

When you go for a walk, take a bag and pick-up what you can.