As seen in the Pacific Garbage Patches, plastic pollution is an issue. Many media outlets have attempted to bring light to the issue by taking pictures of plastic waste where it does not belong. In 2018, the UN environment published an article informing the world that “only 9% of all plastic waste produced has ever been recycled;” the article also addressed how the plastics remaining in the environment are weathered into small enough pieces for fish and phytoplankton to eat. (UN environment, 2018). In class, we also read a book by Sasha Adkins called From Disposable Culture to Disposable People: The Unintended Consequences of Plastics. In this book, Adkins expands on the UN environment article by explaining how, as microplastics are eaten by these smaller organisms, they also enter into the food web. Plankton are eaten by fish which are eaten by larger fish which are caught and eaten by people (Adkins, 2018). This, in turn, leads to the October 2018 findings that microplastics have been found in human stool reported by National Geographic, CNN, The Guardian, the Smithsonian, and more, (Parker, 2018; Picheta, 2018; Solly, 2018; Harvey & Watts, 2018).
When even plastics created to last are degrading into microplastics, wouldn’t biodegradable plastics do the same thing… just faster? As oil-based products, plastics attract other oils and toxins. Therefore, as they are exposed to the environment and float in the ocean, they absorb toxins before being eaten by organisms. When these toxin-absorbing plastics enter an organism’s digestive system, they cannot actually be digested, although the toxins can be absorbed by the body. In fact, one of the gross truths exposed in Sasha Adkins’ book is that cow feed is mixed with similarly textured plastic pellets, that, when eaten by the cow, accumulate in the stomach to make the animal feel as though it is full. When the cow is slaughtered, the pellets can be collected from the stomach and reused for future cow feed to reduce the costs of feeding the animals (Adkins, 2018).
This concept of populating the earth with microplastics plays into the Anthropocene we discussed in class, which refers to the period in geologic time for which human influence on the environment will be apparent. Not all geologists agree about when the Anthropocene began or if it should actually be recognized, but many people attribute the proposed geologic period to be when humans either became agricultural or after the first nuclear bombs were detonated. The Anthropocene is considered to be identifiable by the 6th mass extinction that many believe to be occurring today, and the presence of plastics in the future rock record.
Additionally, biodegradable plastics are often made from alternative sources, such as corn. This allows for the plastic to supposedly biodegrade in the environment because it is made from natural materials. However, if this is the argument being made, natural oil extracted from rocks is also made from compressed organic matter, but it does not biodegrade quickly into natural compounds. When plastics and biodegradable plastics are produced, many additional chemicals are added to ensure durability and effectiveness; however, many of these additives are toxic or not naturally occuring. When combined to form plastics, even if some of the chemical compounds break down, many are unable to do so and remain in the environment as contaminants and microplastics. If biodegradable plastics are bought into, they will produce more microplastics that will lead to an increase in the ingestion of microplastics, the toxic contamination of our land and water, and make it harder to actually clean up the plastic pollution within our environment.
Citations:
Adkins, Sasha. From Disposable Culture To Disposable People: The Unintended Consequences of Plastics. S.l.: RESOURCE PUBNS, 2018.
Harvey, Fiona, and Jonathan Watts. "Microplastics Found in Human Stools for the First Time." The Guardian. October 22, 2018. Accessed May 7, 2019. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/oct/22/microplastics-found-in-human-stools-for-the-first-time.
Morton, Scott. "Misleading 'Degradable' and 'Biodegradable' Bags." BioBag World Australia. February 04, 2019. Accessed May 7, 2019. https://biobagworld.com.au/misleading-labelling/misleading-degradable-and-biodegradable-plastic-bags/.
Parker, Laura. "In a First, Microplastics Found in Human Poop." National Geographic. October 22, 2018. Accessed May 7, 2019. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2018/10/news-plastics-microplastics-human-feces/.
Picheta, Rob. "Microplastics Found in Human Stools, Research Finds." CNN. October 23, 2018. Accessed May 7, 2019. https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/23/health/microplastics-human-stool-pollution-intl/index.html.
Solly, Meilan. "Microplastics Found in Human Poop for the First Time." Smithsonian.com. October 23, 2018. Accessed May 7, 2019. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/microplastics-found-lurking-human-stool-first-time-180970613/.
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