plastic

by

Plastic in China’s Table Salt

Everts, S. (2015, October 29). Plastic Contaminates Table Salt in China. Retrieved November 23, 2015, from http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/plastic-contaminates-table-salt-in-china/

Table salt in China has been impregnated with tiny plastic particles. After testing 15 different brands of salt found in Chinese grocery stores, researchers found small pieces of polyethylene terephthalate, the common plastic used in water bottles, as well as polyethylene, cellophane and other types of plastic. Salt from the ocean had over 250 particles of plastic per pound of sea salt, the highest level of plastic contamination. This is due to the high levels of plastic floating around in the water from which the salt is taken.

It had never occurred to me that the high level of pollution in the ocean would lead to plastic particles appearing in table salt. The presence of plastic in a product that meant to be eaten seems as though it would be a huge health hazard, one that will only worsen as the ocean becomes more polluted. As more plastic is dumped into the ocean, the higher level of plastic there will be in salt, something that the Chinese manufacturers, consumers, and government will have to address before people’s health begins to degrade due to their consumption of plastic.

by

The Harmful Effects of Microbeads

The Editorial Board. (2015, August 21). Microbeads, the Tiny Orbs Threatening Our Water. The New York Times. Retrieved August 22, 2015 from

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/22/opinion/microbeads-the-tiny-orbs-threatening-our-water.html?_r=0

Microbeads are a miniscule type of plastic used as an abrasive in cosmetics, which are both harmful to the ecosystem and nearly impossible to destroy. Once used and washed down the drain, the water containing them is sent to wastewater plants that are often not equipped with the technology needed to extract the tiny particles. Unobstructed, most microbeads arrive at large bodies of water, attract toxic substances, and become integrated into the food chain. Fish consume the plastic and are stunted or poisoned by the toxins. To prevent the spreading of microbeads, either wastewater plants must adopt the machinery required to siphon out the plastic, states must ban cosmetic companies’ use them, or consumers must boycott products containing them.

This article shows that even products we consider necessities, such as cosmetics, can harm the environment without our knowledge. Microbeads are not a widely discussed phenomenon, and many people will unknowingly go their entire lives using harmful products and polluting bodies of water with this plastic. It also highlights the tragic reality of cost-effectiveness: that companies, as well as the government, have the technology to extract pollution, but choose not to purchase the machinery because it is deemed too expensive. Money is valued over maintaining our environment, which is leading to its destruction at human hands.