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Single-use plastics are plastic that are only used once. Valentina D.S. helps us understand that these plastics hurt the environment around you and your other fellow humans around the globe.
By Valentina D.S.
Single-use plastics are plastic that are only used once. For example, single-use plastics are the big bag holding all your bird seed for your bird feeders in your yard. Or they can be the container with your leftover rice from last night's Chinese takeout. All of these plastics hurt the environment around you and your other fellow humans around the globe.
One reason why single-use plastics hurt humans is because studies by Plastic Oceans International have concluded that in a normal human lifespan, people eat up to 40 pounds of plastic. You might as well eat your toy Legos instead of dinner! Just as Legos have sharp edges so does microplastic. These small plastics can travel through the body and could stick in our vital organs. These tiny pieces could damage cells and tissue, causing diseases, according to Discovery. But this is not all. Single-use plastics are bad because they are ingested by sea animals, and people, in turn, eat the fish.
If humans have the ability to consciously choose what we eat and we still eat at least 40 pounds of plastic, how do we think that animals can avoid eating plastic that is intertwined with their food? Animals are precious to the environment. They help us survive, including the obvious reason because we eat them. If you eat animals such as fish you might be ingesting plastic. This is how it works. Plastics, such as water bottles, break down into microplastics that fish can mistake for food then it is stuck in their body, which you eat for dinner.
Microplastic is everywhere: in the air we breathe and the food we eat. According to WebMD, many studies have shown that microplastics are present in things such as water in plastic water bottles. The good news is that we don't need to drink water out of plastic bottles. In the United States, it is safe to drink water from the tap.
It is clear that single-use plastics are detrimental to humans. We can either choose to try to find a solution by coming up with alternatives or eat more Legos. It is your choice.
6 tips to limit microplastic ingestation
Drink water from your tap. Bottled water has about double the microplastic level of tap water, according to Sherri Mason, sustainability coordinator at Penn State.
Don’t heat food in plastic. Heated plastics have been known to leach chemicals into food. The American Academy of Pediatrics also recommends not putting plastic into your dishwasher.
Avoid plastic food containers with known issues. The AAP report noted that recycling codes “3,” “6,” and “7” respectively indicate the presence of phthalates, styrene and bisphenols.
Eat more fresh food. Though the levels of microplastics in fresh produce have been largely untested, these products are less likely to expose you to unwanted chemicals, according to the AAP, especially when compared with anything wrapped in plastic.
Think big picture. Individuals can take actions to limit their plastic exposure, Myers says, but large-scale solutions will require reducing the amount of plastic used overall. Consumers should opt for products packaged in glass instead of plastic, use reusable nonplastic containers whenever possible and support policies limiting the use of single-use plastic.
Source: The Washington Post
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