Why you should care about plastic — even if you don’t live near the ocean

Plastic is one of the most important human inventions of the past century, but it is also one of the most problematic. As of 2018, we have produced over 8.3 billion metric tons of plastic in total (enough to equal the weight of 80 million blue whales) [1], with this comes the significant issue of disposal once it has reached the end of its useful life. This is compounded by the fact that plastics are extremely durable, and while plastics break up over time, they may never truly completely break down and disappear [2]. Unfortunately, much of the plastic we produce has ended up polluting our oceans [3], with devastating results for whales [4], sea turtles [5], birds [6], and fish [7]. However, with most media coverage focusing on the damage to our oceans, the question becomes: should you care about plastic pollution, even if you don’t necessarily care about the ocean? Yes, for a number of reasons:

1) Virgin plastic is produced from oil, and its production is a driver of climate change

Plastic production is intimately connected with the oil industry, because plastic is produced from petroleum. As a new report from the Center for International and Environmental Law states, in 2019, the production and incineration of plastic alone resulted in the equivalent of 850 million metric tons of CO2 being released into the atmosphere [8]. Even worse, these yearly emissions from plastic are expected to triple by the year 2050 [8]. Amazingly, this is greater than the yearly CO2 emissions from the entire United States energy sector in 2007, when CO2 emissions peaked [9].

Climate change is often thought of as a problem for people living in low lying areas along the coast, but this fallacy is quickly being realized. Even people living far from the ocean are experiencing the effects of a changing climate through deadly heat waves, fires, floods, and reduced crop yields [10]. By the year 2050, roughly 162 million Americans (nearly half of the entire country), are expected see a decline in the environment where they live [10]. Nearly 12 million people are expected to migrate out of the South and Midwestern regions of the United States by the year 2065 due to heat alone — making it the greatest intra-national migration in the history of the United States [11]. Expected worsening droughts in the American West and Midwest [12] will make the current irrigation strategies used in America’s breadbasket impossible [10], heavily damaging the US agriculture industry and necessitating significant adaptation to prevent food shortages. At the same time, the increasing risk of flooding and major hurricanes in the southeast, and the increasing risk of fires in the west and northwest, will make it harder and harder for homeowners to obtain insurance in these regions [10]. A changing climate has the potential to completely reshape life in the United States, and the production of virgin plastic cannot be divorced from it.

2) Microplastics are entering the food chain and being ingested by people even when they do not live near the ocean

Ingestion of plastics, and particularly microplastics, are a problem that is not exclusive to animals. In a small study from the University of Vienna, of 8 people tested in Europe and Japan, every single person was found to have plastic in their feces [13]. The plastic we eat may come from seafood, but it has also been found in sugar, salt, and terrestrial food products like beer [14]. This is because an estimated 32% of the plastic produced each year ends up in either our terrestrial soils or terrestrial freshwater ecosystems, where it can then enter our agricultural products [14]. As plastic production (and subsequent pollution) increases, this problem will only worsen. Luckily, unlike coral or shrimp, humans do not have to worry about these microplastics clogging their digestive tracts. Instead, microplastics can harm us by absorbing organic chemical pollutants such as pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). These chemicals then leech from ingested microplastics into our bodies, where over time they can accumulate and damage our health [15]. Once microplastics further break down into nanoplastics, due to their incredibly small size, they can easily enter our cells where they cause cellular death and inflammation [14]. Additionally, the breakdown products of some plastics are estrogen-like compounds, which can have significant negative effects on our reproductive health [14].

3) A collapse in ocean fisheries will have negative effects on food availability, even for people who do not eat seafood

On average, Americans consumed 16.1 pounds of seafood per year in 2018 [16]. Worldwide, however, over 1 billion people are dependent on seafood as their primary protein source [17], while more than half of all people derive at least 15% of their protein intake form fish [18]. Clearly seafood is extremely important for the nutritional needs of people both in the United States and globally. Unsurprisingly, ocean plastics have serious negative effects on habitats like coral reefs [19], and direct ingestion of plastics by fish [7] and shellfish [20] can lead to blockage of the digestive tract and starvation of those animals. Due to both of these factors, increasing ocean plastics will lead to less available seafood. If you don’t eat seafood, you may not think this will affect you, but it does. We live in a global economy, and our food supply chain is global in nature. Food shortages anywhere will mean increased cost everywhere. If we are no longer able to get food from the sea, we will need to produce more terrestrially by converting forests to farmland. This will be a disaster for the climate — the burning of rainforests to produce new farmland and rangeland is already one of the major causes of international CO2 emissions [21], and a collapse of seafood production can only make this worse. Additionally, destroying the remaining wild spaces of the planet will result in increased interactions with wildlife, which in turn increases the chances of novel zoonotic diseases and pandemics like the one we are currently experiencing.

4) Plastic may be an even bigger problem on land than in the oceans

The problem of plastic pollution receives the most attention when it comes to the ocean, but plastic pollution is a problem on land as well. Plastic is an extremely persistent and long-lived material, taking centuries to degrade [1]. This is one of the reasons why we have produced so much of it. Unfortunately, it is also why so much of it is in our soil [14], and why we are eating so much plastic even if we do not eat seafood. Microplastics are too small for us to see, but as previously mentioned that doesn’t prevent them from negatively affecting our health. Studies even indicate that there may be more microplastic pollution in our terrestrial soil than in our oceans [14]. Not only can these plastics hurt us when ingested, they can negatively affect our ability to grow food by damaging the bacteria and invertebrates that we rely on to make our soil productive [14]. In other words, while most of the media coverage revolves around plastic pollution in the ocean and how it damages life there, it can also cause serious damage to terrestrial agriculture . Modern agriculture practices are known to be damaging our soil over time and reducing productivity [21]. Plastic is only making this problem worse.

What can we do to tackle this problem?

The good news is that the world is finally beginning to recognize how bad plastic pollution is for our health and our planet. The bad news is that recycling, which is the most common method for reducing plastic, is not a real solution. In spite of widespread utilization of recycling, only 10% of plastic produced in history has been recycled because (1) most plastic is not recyclable due to its low quality, (2) plastic is energy and labor intensive to recycle, (3) plastic degrades every time it is recycled, meaning it cannot be recycled indefinitely, and (4) virgin plastic production is a major source of profit for the oil industry and chemical, so as much as they champion recycling as a solution, it is not in their best interest to make recycling work. This is why, in spite of nearly 50 years of effort, investment, and nearly universal buy in, recycling has done virtually nothing to reduce plastic pollution in the developed world. In fact, so little plastic is recycled that even if large companies (such as bottled drink producers) wanted to use recycled plastic in their products they will have difficulty sourcing it. This may change in the future, as researchers and companies are working hard to create new recycling processes and new biodegradable plastic from plants. Unfortunately, if we wait until these products are available it will be too late to fix the problem. While no individual can fix a problem of this size (unless maybe you are the CEO of Coke or Pepsi), if we work collectively, we can address the plastic pollution problem. Here are a few things that can be done, starting with the easiest:

1. Start using re-usable water bottles, coffee mugs, and bags

According to 5-gyres, a non-profit research organization committed to monitoring ocean plastics, plastic bottle caps and plastic bottles from drinks make up the second and third most common type of plastic pollution found in the ocean, followed by plastic bags at number 4 [22]. Instead of buying disposable plastic water bottles, bring a re-usable bottle with you and fill up at public water fountains. There is even a helpful phone app which tells you where you can refill a water bottle for free (Tap — Find Water Anywhere [23]). If you prefer not to download an app, you can just go their website (www.findtap.com). If you are a coffee drinker, most coffee shops will now let you use a re-usable coffee thermos instead of giving you a disposable Styrofoam cup — many even give a discount for doing so. Finally, bringing re-usable bags when you go shopping (not just for groceries) can help reduce the number of plastic bags you use — and really, do you need any more plastic bags under your sink?

2. Purchase plastic free alternatives

If possibly, try to avoid purchasing items that are packaged in plastic. An obvious place for this is at the supermarket, where you can purchase the free fruit and vegetables from stands rather than things packaged in plastic bags and containers. Another place to avoid plastic is in your bathroom and kitchen. Buy bar soaps and dry goods rather than items held in plastic containers. Buy ground coffee rather than single use cups for a Keurig machine.

3. Avoid microplastics in your products

As you hopefully now know, microplastics may be invisible but they can have a huge negative effect on our health and the health of the environment. Due to their small size, it can be extremely difficult to recognize where you are purchasing them. One source of microplastics are our bath and beauty products, where microplastics are commonly used as exfoliators. Read the labels of the products you purchase and avoid items with microplastics. Another big source of microplastics is in clothing, especially items like fleeces. One study showed a typical load of laundry could release over 700,000 microplastic fibers into the waste water, where they often end up in fields or in our oceans [24]. One option is to avoid clothes made only of synthetic material like polyester in favor of cotton or wool clothing. Additionally, there are inexpensive bags you can buy to wash synthetic clothing in which captures microplastics (here is one option https://us.guppyfriend.com/) rather than letting them enter the wastewater sewage system.

4. Support companies that are trying to create a circular economy

There now companies that are committed to trying to create a circular economy so that the containers we use for our everyday products are made of sturdy, reusable materials rather than single use plastic. One great example of this is the company Loop (www.loopstore.com/), which works with large companies you probably already buy from (Walgreens, Clorox, Crest, Pantene, Oral-B, Hagen-Daas, ect) and packages their products in re-usable containers which they deliver to your house. They are just as convenient as buying from Amazon, and the only increased cost is having to pay a one time deposit the first time you buy a product.

5. Contact your political representatives

Arguably the most important thing you can do to help reduce plastics is bring awareness to it. Increased awareness in coastal cities has resulted in bans of plastic straws and bags, which is a good first step in addressing our excessive plastic use. If you live in places where bans like these are being discussed, call your representatives in the state or local level to show your support. Additionally, taxing single use plastic (similar to some countries in Europe) would add economic incentives to people switching to re-usable options.

6. Put pressure on large corporations

Thanks to the strength of public campaigns to highlight the issues with plastic, companies are finally pledging to reduce the amount of plastic packaging they use. Coke has pledged to use recycled plastic for 50% of their bottles by 2030. This timeline is far too slow, and as mentioned before recycling alone will not fix this issue, but this response shows that companies are susceptible to public pressure. The more people talk about the issue of plastic pollution, the more corporations will see addressing the issue as necessary to continue their businesses. It was once the norm for coke to put all their drinks in glass bottles or aluminum cans, and it can be that way again. However, in a corporate world obsessed with short term profits, this will only happen if the public forces them to.

The plastic pollution crisis is a daunting problem, but it is a solvable one. We already have the technology to fix it. We just have to commit to the solution.

References

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