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8 Things That Are Made from Recycled Plastic - H West Equipment

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8 Things That Are Made from Recycled Plastic - H West Equipment

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8 Things That Are Made from Recycled Plastic

Manufacturing goods from recycled and reclaimed materials has become quite popular in the last decade. Thanks to the new technology available, the quality and appearance of these goods is also improved. Plastics is one area where recycling has drastically developed.

Recycled plastics nowadays are robust with an outstanding finish and excellent appearance. Most plastic products are not only made from recycled materials but when disposed of, they themselves can also be recycled.
Following are 8 things that are made from recycled plastic:

1. Shampoo Bottles

Plastic bottles for detergent, shampoo, as well as household cleaners come mostly from a recycled plastic known as high-density polyethylene. Manufacturers often leave the plastic in its natural, translucent state, that has milky white color or sometimes they add colorful pigments in order to make bottles stand out from the competition. While the recycled high-density polyethylene is being used in manufacturing milk bottles, it is best suited for non-food products only.

2. Film and Sheeting

Apart from high-density polyethylene, low-density polyethylene is also quite popular when it comes to recycled plastic products. It is more flexible and transparent than the high-density variety. Both types have similar ability to resist chemicals such as bases and acids. Recycled low-density polyethylene finds its way into products such as film and sheeting, as well as shipping envelopes.

3. Traffic Cones

Recycled polyvinyl chloride is suitable for manufacturing resilient and flexible goods such as garden hoses, mud flaps, and orange traffic cones. Unlike fragile materials such as polystyrene, this polyvinyl chloride is tough and handles impacts very well. There, it is also used in rigid items such as decking and floor tiles, plumbing pipes, etc. Just like other types of recycled plastics, PVC is available in its clear and pure form mixed with pigments for color.

4. Packing Materials

Recycled polystyrene is used in manufacturing packing cartons as well as some other products that protect goods during shipment. Styrofoam is also a polystyrene but with air bubbles puffed into the material. Styrofoam can be relatively springy or rigid depending on how it's made. Apart from packing materials, this recycled plastic makes a superb thermal insulation and is used in various items.

5. Trash Bags

Most trash bags are also made from recycled plastic. These bags give you the reliability and convenience of standard bags but take relatively less energy to manufacture, resulting in low greenhouse gas emissions.

6. Kitchenware

Mostly, affordable kitchenware (which is available in a wide range of fun colors) is also made from recycled plastic. Plastic cutting boards, colanders, mixing bowls, and tableware are strong enough to stand up to everyday use, and food storage containers made from recycled plastic can be reused again and again.

7. Countertops

Some countertops are also made from recycled high-density polyethylene plastic. You can install these countertops in your kitchen, laundry room, bathroom, or anywhere else you need an attractive, durable work surface.

8. Carpeting

Recycled plastic bottles are melted and spun into durable and soft fibers in order to make some brands of carpeting. Opportunities to recycle carpeting are rapidly increasing.

H-West Equipment, Inc is a provider of recycling equipment for recycling centers, based in Orange, CA. We sell and service every piece of equipment necessary, from Balers to Compactors, to Shredders, Conveyors, and much more throughout California, Arizona, Nevada and Northern Mexico. We also provide parts and expert service throughout the same coverage area. For consultation, or to schedule service, reach us through our contact form or call us at our corporate office in Orange CA at (714) 289-7733 today!

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8 Things That Are Made from Recycled Plastic - H West Equipment

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8 Things That Are Made from Recycled Plastic Manufacturing goods from recycled and reclaimed materials has become quite popular in the last decade. Thanks to the new technology available, the quality and appearance of these goods is also improved. Plastics is one area where recycling...

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9 Sad But True Facts About How Much Plastic Is Really in Our Oceans

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9 Sad But True Facts About How Much Plastic Is Really in Our Oceans

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The oceans are massive, pulsing, vibrant bodies of water that serve humanity in countless ways - from providing food to enabling commerce to simply being beautiful.

But these powerful expanses of sea are not invincible. Each year, human activity erodes marine life in some way. Overfishing is driving many fish populations to the brink of extinction, carbon emissions are acidifying the waters, making it hard for small sea animals to reproduce, rising global temperatures are cooking coral reefs alive.

And plastic - the ubiquitous material that comes in so many forms - is terrorizing everything that depends on these waters.
Read More: This Uninhabited Island in the South Pacific Is Completely Covered in Trash
Here are 9 shocking facts about how much plastic is in the oceans.

1/ Every half second, this much plastic makes it into the world's oceans.

2/ At least 8 million tons of plastic enter the oceans each year. That's similar to emptying a garbage truck of plastic into an ocean every minute.

3/ There is more microplastic in the ocean than there are stars in the Milky Way.
Read More: Underwater Sculptor's Coral Bleaching Exhibit Is One Everyone Needs to See
4/ 322 million tons of plastic were produced in 2015 - the same weight as 900 Empire State Buildings (which is made of granite and steel).

5/ 60-90% of marine litter is plastic-based.

6/ More than 50% of sea turtles have consumed plastic.

Image: Flickr/Sea Turtles

7/ The average US citizen consumes 167 plastic water bottles each year - but recycles just 25% of them.
Read More: How This Beach in India Went From Trash-Ridden to Pristine in 2 Years
8/ The amount of plastic in the world's oceans could increase by a factor of 10 in the next decade.

9/ Cigarette butts, plastic bags, fishing gear, and food and beverage containers are the most common forms of plastic pollution found in the oceans.

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9 Sad But True Facts About How Much Plastic Is Really in Our Oceans

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The oceans are massive, pulsing, vibrant bodies of water that serve humanity in countless ways - from providing food to enabling commerce to simply being beautiful. But these powerful expanses of sea are not invincible. Each year, human activity erodes marine life in some way.

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LOLIWARE's Edible Straws Could Be A Solution To The Plastic Straw Problem

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LOLIWARE's Edible Straws Could Be A Solution To The Plastic Straw Problem

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The cultural conversation about plastic straws has primarily been about how they are problem: they are a single-use plastic, they create unnecessary waste, and they are contributing to pollution and greater environmental issues. However, there is a company working toward a solution, creating edible, biodegradable straws to replace the plastic ones so many cities and companies are starting to ban. Maybe soon we can have our straws and our planet, too.

LOLIWARE is to thank for what they are calling the "world's first edible, hyper-compostable, marine-degradable straw aimed at replacing plastic straws." The LOLISTRAW, which has currently surpassed its initial IndieGoGo financial goals, is an alternative to plastic straws that can be composted, eaten, and even add flavor to your drink. Instead of plastic, the straws are made from a seaweed-based material which is entirely biodegradable, marine-degradable, and non-GMO. Plus, they come in cute colors AND flavors.

LOLISTRAWS look and feel like regular plastic straws, according to their IndieGoGo page. However they go "from straw to soil in 60 days or less" rather than sitting in a landfill for what is essentially forever. You don't need to worry about the straw disintegrating in your drink, either. LOLISTRAWS will last for 24 hours in your beverage and have a shelf life of up to two years.
Leigh Ann Tucker on YouTube
Let's get back to the whole "you can eat them" thing. LOLISTRAWS are zero calorie and LOLIWARE co-founders Chelsea Briganti and Leigh Ann Tucker have developed flavor profiles for the straws like "citrus" (which would pair great with an iced tea) and "vanilla dust" (which sounds ideal with a cold brew). They've also developed a LOLISTRAW they've dubbed "air" because it's clear, flavorless, and is the most realistic one-for-one replacement of your standard plastic straw.

Of course, you don't have to eat the straw. You can throw it in the compost bin after you're done with your drink and it will turn into soil in a couple months. If it does end up in the trash or, eventually, the ocean, that isn't a problem either as LOLISTRAWS are biodegradable.

You might have heard of LOLIWARE when they were featured on in 2015. That's when they pitched their signature LOLIWARE edible cups. Like LOLISTRAWS, these edible cups are a completely biodegradable alternative to your typical plastic cup. They're also flavored, so you can eat your cup after you're done with your drink. Post-party clean-up would be a breeze.

LOLIWARE

By some estimates, Americans use about 500 million straws every day. However, some experts are critical of that number, as it's just an estimate. (The exact number is almost impossible to calculate.) According to Bloomberg, straws account for roughly .03 percent of the plastic waste in the ocean. While that may seem small percentage-wise, that's still a lot of single-use plastic waste we're generating.

Milo Cress, who calculated that initial number when he was nine, says we've been belaboring the wrong point. "I think getting stuck on what the exact number is sort of misses the point of my project, which is to reduce our use and waste of straws," Cress told MONEY. "I think we could improve on pretty much any number as long as we're continuing to waste plastic. Any number is too high." Which is exactly where companies like LOLIWARE and products like LOLISTRAW come in.

Entire like Seattle have banned plastic straws and companies like Starbucks are finding alternate options to single-use plastic straws. One restaurant owner in Malibu has taken to replacing plastic straws with bucatini, a hollow pasta in the shape of a long tube. "I woke up and I said, 'Spaghetti, man. Pasta. Pasta with a hole. It's available. It's cheap,'" restaurant owner Bob Morris told KCAL-TV. Spaghetti indeed, man.

Straws have become something of a controversial topic in 2018. Some say banning straws is a necessary step to creating a more eco-friendly culture. Others say a straw ban isn't sustainable especially for people with disabilities who rely on plastic straws. Regardless, we could all do our part to live more sustainably and use plastics more consciously.

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These Edible, Environmentally-Friendly Straws Come In 7 Delicious Flavors

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The cultural conversation about plastic straws has primarily been about how they are problem: they are a single-use plastic, they create unnecessary waste, and they are contributing to pollution and greater environmental issues. However, there is a company working toward a solution, creating edible, biodegradable straws to replace the plastic ones so many cities and companies are starting to ban.

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JAMES BARTOLD, REPORTER: We've all seen it clinging to trees and drifting along footpaths. After all we drive in it, we talk on it, we sit on it and we even package our food in it.

Plastic is an everyday part of our lives. Almost half of this plastic we use though is only used once and then it's chucked out. So the majority of our unwanted plastic heads here to landfill. Some other plastic is recycled but they're not the only places it's ending up.

The ocean has become a home for our plastic. It's estimated three point five million pieces of new plastic enter the world's oceans every day and that's not good for the creatures that live there.

Thousands of birds and marine animals die each year because they swallow plastic or get caught up in it but how is all this plastic is getting into the ocean? Well that's what this group of researchers is trying to find out.

This is Lord Howe Island off the east coast of Australia. It's a place that's unspoilt, and beautiful, but it's also a place where wild life is dying.

Plastic can be found within seconds on this deserted island beach and it's by studying this rubbish that the researchers hope they'll find out how it's got all the way over here.

DR BRITTA DENISE HARDESTY: "So as we go out on these beaches and we pick up rubbish on our shores, we say OK, 'This is the debris that's come here. We can then use oceanographic models that tell us, you know, what are the winds, what are the currents? These bits of garbage that ended up here where did they most likely come from?"

REPORTER: Once plastic gets into the water currents send it sailing around the world. So to keep track of all this plastic, where it came from and where it's going the researchers have teamed up with school kids all over Australia to try to build a complete picture.

With the extra hands the research project has already made it more than three quarters of the way around the continent.

Around the country there are other things people are doing to try to stop plastic making its way into the ocean. Devices like these on mouths of rivers or waterways trap things like plastic bottles.

REPORTER: These reeds have been especially planted here by the council. They're here to stop rubbish that comes down the waterways making its way out into the sea.

Some places have gone even further than that.

In 2009 South Australia banned places like supermarkets from giving away light-weight plastic bags. And South Australia also encourages people to recycle plastic bottles by giving ten cents back on every drink bottle you take to a recycling centre.

DR BRITTA DENISE HARDESTY: "Observationally we do not find full plastic bottles or cans or glass bottles in, in South Australia and I would likely attribute that to the, to the container deposit scheme that they have there."

REPORTER: So what can you do to help? Well if you go shopping use green bags or recyclable instead of plastic, and buy containers that can be used more than once. Because if each of us can use less plastic in our lives it means one less piece that can end up here!

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JAMES BARTOLD, REPORTER: We've all seen it clinging to trees and drifting along footpaths. After all we drive in it, we talk on it, we sit on it and we even package our food in it. Plastic is an everyday part of our lives.

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THE GLOBAL PROBLEM | Seven Clean Seas | We Clean Seas

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THE GLOBAL PROBLEM | Seven Clean Seas | We Clean Seas

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THE GLOBAL PROBLEM | Seven Clean Seas | We Clean Seas

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Tips to Use Less Plastic - Green Education Foundation | GEF | Sustainability Education

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Tips to Use Less Plastic - Green Education Foundation | GEF | Sustainability Education

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Tips to Use Less Plastic - Green Education Foundation | GEF | Sustainability Education

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As part of the Waste Reduction Challenge, try cutting back on the amount of plastic you use.

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You Can Help Turn the Tide on Plastic. Here’s How.

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You Can Help Turn the Tide on Plastic. Here’s How.

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This story is part of Planet or Plastic?-our multiyear effort to raise awareness about the global plastic waste crisis. Learn what you can do to reduce your own single-use plastics, and take your pledge.

Read this story and more in the June 2018 issue of National Geographic magazine.

In a world that can seem overwhelmed by potentially eternal plastic waste, are biodegradables the ultimate solution? Probably not. But it's complicated. The industry is still debating what "biodegradable" actually means. And some plastics made of fossil fuels will biodegrade, while some plant-based "bioplastics" won't.

Biodegradable plastics have been around since the late 1980s. They initially were marketed with the implied promise that they'd somehow disappear once they were disposed of, just as leaves on the forest floor are decomposed by fungi and soil microbes. It hasn't quite worked out that way.

Biodegradables don't live up to their promise, for example, in the dark, oxygen-free environment of a commercial landfill or in the cool waters of the ocean, if they should end up there. You can't throw them in your backyard compost either. To break down, they require the 130-degree heat of an industrial composter. Many industrial composters accept only plastics that meet certain standards, ensuring they will leave no fragments behind that can harm the environment or human health. And if you throw some biodegradables in with recyclables, you might ruin the latter, creating a mix that can no longer be relied on to make durable new plastic.

In 2015 the United Nations Environment Programme wrote off biodegradables as an unrealistic solution that will neither reduce the amount of plastic flowing into the oceans nor prevent potential chemical or physical harm to marine life. It concluded that the label "biodegradable" may actually encourage littering.

Some engineers are looking for ways around these obstacles. Jenna Jambeck and her colleagues at the University of Georgia's New Materials Institute are using polymers synthesized by microbes to make packaging they hope will compost readily and biodegrade in the ocean. Corn chip bags are their first target.

Polymateria, a British firm, is taking a different approach, developing chemical additives to help biodegrade any plastic-bio based or synthetic-more quickly. The firm aims to be the "Tesla" of biodegradable plastics; CEO Niall Dunne says the goal is a product that will "harmonize plastics with the biosphere."

It's a tall order. Even the best biodegradable product won't magically disappear. A plastic container robust enough to carry a gallon of milk can't decompose like paper. A flowerpot, one of Polymateria's experimental products, could take up to two years to dissolve if tossed in a ditch, Dunne concedes. Biodegradables, some critics say, don't address the fundamental problem: our throwaway culture.

"What is it that we are promoting?" asks Ramani Narayan, a Michigan State University chemical engineering professor. "Throw it away, and eventually it will go away?" The more responsible approach, he says, is a "circular economy" model, in which everything is reused or recycled and "any 'leakage' into the environment, whether biodegradable or not, is not acceptable."

Norway has shown how far the recycling of plastic bottles-a big part of beach trash-can go. It now recovers 97 percent of them. Its trick: deposits as high as 2.5 kroner (32 cents) and machines, found at most supermarkets, that ingest bottles and spit out refunds.

But recycling can go only so far. Part of the solution, many say, must be to use less disposable plastic in the first place. The "zero waste" movement, which dates to the mid-1990s, is gaining favor. Hundreds of communities worldwide are embracing it-including the downtrodden industrial town of Roubaix, France, where the success of a citizens' campaign shows that zero waste is more than an affectation of wealthy liberals.

On the contrary, the idea seems to have a cross-cutting, almost spiritual appeal. In the U.K., the Church of England asked its flock to give up plastic packaging and disposables for Lent this year. Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May called for supermarkets to set up plastic-free aisles, where food is sold in bulk. She's also considering a tax on single-use plastics such as take-out containers. It's all part of her government's campaign to rid the country of plastic waste within 25 years.

China is providing motivation. For nearly three decades it has bought about half the world's recyclable plastic. But this year it called a halt to most scrap imports. Recyclables are now piling up in the countries that generated them. "That pushes the question upstream," Jambeck says. "We hope it will push towards more circular management."

Six Things You Can Do (and Feel No Pain)

1. Give up plastic bags. Take your own reusable ones to the store. A trillion plastic shopping bags are used worldwide every year, and 100 billion in the United States alone-that's almost one per American per day. The average Dane, in contrast, goes through four single-use bags per year. Denmark passed the first bag tax in 1993.

2. Skip straws. Unless you have medical needs, and even then you could use paper ones. Americans toss 500 million plastic straws every day, or about 1.5 per person.

3. Pass up plastic bottles. Invest in a refillable water bottle. Some come with filters if you're worried about water quality. A handful of cities, including Bundanoon, Australia, and San Francisco, have banned or partially banned bottled water. But around the world, nearly a million plastic beverage bottles are sold every minute.

4. Avoid plastic packaging. Buy bar soap instead of liquid. Buy in bulk. Avoid produce sheathed in plastic. And while you're at it, give up plastic plates and cups. The French are (partially) banning the stuff.

5. Recycle what you can. Even in rich countries, recycling rates are low. Globally, 18 percent of all plastic is recycled. Europe manages 30 percent, China 25-the United States only 9.

6. Don't litter. The Ocean Conservancy has run beach cleanups for 30 years. Of the top 10 types of trash they find, the only nonplastic item is glass bottles. Worldwide, 73 percent of beach litter is plastic: cigarette butts (the filters), bottles and caps, food wrappers, grocery bags, polystyrene containers. In 2016 the conservancy collected 9,200 tons of trash in 112 countries-around a thousandth of what enters the ocean each year.
Correction: A previous version of this article misidentified the jar in the caption as a quart jar (32 ounces), when in fact it is a pint jar (16 ounces).

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You Can Help Turn the Tide on Plastic. Here's How.

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This story is part of Planet or Plastic?-our multiyear effort to raise awareness about the global plastic waste crisis. Learn what you can do to reduce your own single-use plastics, and take your pledge. Read this story and more in the June 2018 issue of National Geographic magazine.

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Solar For East is a student-led initiative that aims to implement more sustainable energy sources for the East Campus of United World College of Southeast Asia (UWCSEA). In early September 2017, fourteen Grade 9 students with a passion for clean energy, as well as the Facilities Department met to discuss the pressing issue of the school's carbon footprint, as well as the possibility of launching a solar panel initiative on the campus. They then proceeded to create a proposal to share to the Board in November 2017, which was approved. As part of the UWC mission, this project aims to foster community awareness and spirit on the issues of clean energy and climate change, as well as allows the students involved to experience creating change and to take a lead in making a difference for the planet. The team is now currently working to install 1,130 panels across four different locations over the next few years in order to reduce the school's dependency on unsustainable energy sources and reduce their impact on the environment.

Right now, the East campus consumes 5975 megawatts per hour of electricity each year. Electricity generation alone emits 7.65 billion tonnes of CO2 each year, clearly showing that our use of energy is unsustainable and a solution is needed, fast. Energy-related ventures alone account for 86% of all human-related greenhouse gases, and this pressing issue has become a lot more apparent in recent years, from droughts and floods to drowning polar bears. Luckily, many countries including Singapore are heavily contributing to working with renewable energy by funding renewable energy projects as well as the physical installation of solar panels. As the students did more research, the amount of carbon dioxide produced at their school inspired them to take action. UWCSEA emits approximately 2,480,363.17 Kgs of carbon annually, greatly contributing to the issue of climate change. With this initiative, we hope to save 173,625.4219 Kgs of carbon from being emitted into the atmosphere, which will not only reduce the amount of money spent on energy but also greatly reduce the impact the school is having on the environment and global warming.

But how can you get involved?

1. Make a donation towards solar panel s
Buying a solar panel to go on the roof of UWCSEA East Campus would greatly help our impact on the planet, and just one solar panel would save 3,499.17 kg of CO2 from being emitted into the atmosphere. For a gift of $600 you can buy a whole solar panel, or alternatively, buy parts of a panel for a lower price. Each dollar donated saves the emission of 5.83 kg of CO2 into the atmosphere, so simply go on to the Solar For East website to make your contribution.

2. Reduce your reliance on air conditioners
The energy used by air conditioners is equivalent to the energy used by 11 fans. By switching to using a fan, you can save $400 every year. Even by letting the AC run for a little while, you can still save about $340 every year by using a fan.

3. Reduce energy wastage by turning off power sockets
We can save around $25 a year just by simply turning off unused power sockets. Use power strips instead and turn off groups of appliances when unneeded.

4. Practice sustainable consumerism
Rule: The more ticks, the better. You can save $270 a year with a 5 tick air conditioner and $75 a year with a 3 tick refrigerator.

5. Use appliances effectively
Only wash full loads of dishes and clothes and air dry them if possible. Save around $110 a year by switching off water heaters after use.

6. Cook smarter
Use microwaves and toasters to cook or warm leftovers. Keep the oven door closed while cooking as the temperature can drop by 25 degrees each time you open the door.

Following these 6 steps will bring us closer and closer to a cleaner tomorrow, and one step closer to ending global warming.

Our objective has always been to provide clean, sustainable energy solutions to the community of UWCSEA East, and with the help of an initial funding from the board and a lot of hard work, our goal can now be accomplished! We are now working directly on sales, as we set up our crowd-funding system in order to raise funds for panels. Our aim is to sell approximately 100 panels by the end of six months. We are working closely with the UWCSEA Foundation for the marketing of our campaign, and hope to gain support from all members of the community, including students, parents, alumni, and parents of alumni.
This blog post was written by the students leading the Solar for East initiative.

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Solar For East is a student-led initiative that aims to implement more sustainable energy sources for the East Campus of United World College of Southeast Asia (UWCSEA). In early September 2017, fourteen Grade 9 students with a passion for clean energy, as well as the Facilities Department met to discuss the pressing issue of the school's carbon footprint, as well as the possibility of launching a solar panel initiative on the campus.

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Love & Murder: Rethinking Our Relationship With Nature | Nathan Hunt | TEDxUWCSEA - YouTube

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Love & Murder: Rethinking Our Relationship With Nature | Nathan Hunt | TEDxUWCSEA - YouTube

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Love & Murder: Rethinking Our Relationship With Nature | Nathan Hunt | TEDxUWCSEA

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Leadership In Environmental Sustainability | UWCSEA | International school in Singapore

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Leadership In Environmental Sustainability | UWCSEA | International school in Singapore

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UWCSEA | International school in Singapore

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TAKE ACTION — Plastic Pollution Coalition

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TAKE ACTION — Plastic Pollution Coalition

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TAKE ACTION - Plastic Pollution Coalition

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Plastic Pollution Coalition is a project of Earth Island Institute, a 501(c)3, non-profit organization, organized and existing under the laws of California (Federal Tax ID #94-2889684), located at:

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Ocean Rubbish Clean-Up - Classroom - BTN

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Ocean Rubbish Clean-Up - Classroom - BTN

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If you close your eyes and squint a bit, you could pretend this 600-metre-long tube is some kind of giant ocean snake. It's not, though. It's a device with a very special mission to catch the ocean's rubbish, or at least some of it. It's being towed out to a part of the Pacific Ocean known as the Great Garbage Patch. The water currents here happen to make lots of plastic rubbish drift together, and I mean lots. An area almost the size of Queensland.

Until now, it's been too difficult, too big, and too expensive to do much about it. That was until this guy came along, Boyan Slat. This snake thing was his idea, and it all started when he was still at school.

BOYAN SLAT, OCEAN CLEANUP: I realised, back in high school, there might be an alternative.

For a school project he designed a system of floating barriers that would be up to 100 kilometres long. They'd sit in the path of ocean currents, in a v-shape, to capture and funnel any floating plastic. Then these giant towers would suck it all up.

BOYAN SLAT, OCEAN CLEANUP: Instead of going after the plastics, you could simply wait for the plastic to come to you.

We've spent a lot of time telling you about plastic pollution on BTN.

JACK: Yup a recent study found that Aussies discard more than 9 billion pieces of plastic every year. Unlike paper or cardboard, plastic takes a really, really long time to break down.

MEG: I've come to realise that our precious marine life are getting killed by the so called innocent plastic bag.

But finding solutions hasn't been easy, and with so much plastic already in our oceans, killing our marine life, Boyan and his organisation, Ocean Cleanup, are hopeful they can tackle the problem one giant snake at a time.

BOYAN SLAT, OCEAN CLEANUP: This is pretty incredible. I mean something that we've been working towards for five years and just having seen it from the early conceptual sketches to now the first unit actually going through the Golden Gates (bridge) and heading to the garbage patch is pretty incredible.

It's aiming to trap some of the 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic that scientists estimate are swirling around here while still letting marine life safely swim beneath it.

It's fitted with solar powered lights, cameras, sensors and satellite antennas. And the design will make it easy for boats to fish out the collected plastic every few months and transport it to dry land where it will be recycled.

Boyan is now 24, and despite the years of work that've gone in to this, he says the system will still get more tweaks in the coming months. The hope is to take it even further, by letting 60 of these giant snakes loose on the Pacific Ocean by 2020. That's a lot of hungry snakes who surely won't be going hungry. But hopefully they do at some point.

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If you close your eyes and squint a bit, you could pretend this 600-metre-long tube is some kind of giant ocean snake. It's not, though. It's a device with a very special mission to catch the ocean's rubbish, or at least some of it.

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More Recycling Won't Solve Plastic Pollution - Scientific American Blog Network

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More Recycling Won't Solve Plastic Pollution - Scientific American Blog Network

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More Recycling Won’t Solve Plastic Pollution

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It’s a lie that wasteful consumers cause the problem and that changing our individual habits can fix it

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(417) How We Can Keep Plastics Out of Our Ocean | National Geographic - YouTube

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(417) How We Can Keep Plastics Out of Our Ocean | National Geographic - YouTube

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How We Can Keep Plastics Out of Our Ocean | National Geographic

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(417) The Great Pacific Garbage Patch Is Not What You Think It Is | The Swim - YouTube

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(417) The Great Pacific Garbage Patch Is Not What You Think It Is | The Swim - YouTube

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The Great Pacific Garbage Patch Is Not What You Think It Is | The Swim

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(417) OCEAN POLLUTION: This Whale Had A Message From The Deep - YouTube

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(417) OCEAN POLLUTION: This Whale Had A Message From The Deep - YouTube

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OCEAN POLLUTION: This Whale Had A Message From The Deep

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Plastic Pollution Problems - Classroom - BTN

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Plastic Pollution Problems - Classroom - BTN

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It's been steadily growing, taking over our planet.

AMELIA: It was everywhere, everywhere I looked.

NIC: Well what was it?

AMELIA: It was plastic pollution.

And now it's so big, there's only one thing to do. It's time to take out the trash. Watch out humans. The plastic thing is coming.

REPORTER: Plastic might not seem that scary. After all it's something most of us use every day. But experts say for the environment plastic is a monstrous problem. Yup a recent study found that Aussies discard more than 9 billion pieces of plastic every year. The biggest culprits, single use coffee cups and plastic bags. In fact, if you lined up all of the coffee cups and plastic bags we've thrown out it would extend a whopping 1.47 million kilometres. Which is enough to stretch to the moon more than three times.

Here in Australia, a fair bit of plastic is recycled but most is sent to landfill. Although some of it escapes into the environment. But in some places overseas, where it's not as easy to have your rubbish collected and recycled, plastic pollution is a massive problem. More than eight million tonnes of the stuff ends up in the world's oceans and that's putting our sea life in a really risky situation. More than a million sea birds and a hundred thousand marine mammals die from plastic every year. Like this whale that washed up on a beach in Thailand last week after swallowing 80 plastic bags. And experts say if something isn't done soon there'll be more plastic than fish in the ocean by 2050.

What makes plastic so problematic for the environment is also what makes it so useful. It's cheap and it lasts a long time. Unlike paper or cardboard plastic takes a really, really long time to break down. So, the United Nations wants people to rethink how they use plastic and avoid single use packaging. On World Environment the UN launched a campaign encouraging people to tackle plastic pollution and tag their friends to do the same.

UN VIDEO: Tag I'm it. I tag Ellen Degeneres, Snoop Dawg and Barack Obama.

They're also encouraging people to clean up their local beaches, like these guys in Thailand who get together every week to pick up rubbish. And now Supermarket giants Woolworths and Coles say they're going to do more to fight plastic pollution. By the end of the month they'll stop providing single use plastic bags in store and they say they'll be cutting down on the amount of plastic they use to wrap their fruit and vegies. Woolies says it's also going to be banning the sale of plastic straws by the end of the year. Environmental groups say that's a great start. But there's a lot more that needs to be done If we want to save the world from the Plastic Menace.

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It's been steadily growing, taking over our planet. AMELIA: It was everywhere, everywhere I looked. NIC: Well what was it? AMELIA: It was plastic pollution. And now it's so big, there's only one thing to do. It's time to take out the trash. Watch out humans. The plastic thing is coming.

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Green is the New Black and Dentsu Singapore create "Plastic Salt" for World Earth Day.

90% of the world's salt contains microplastic

Hopefully, this isn't news to you, but we have a global plastic pollution crisis. That means 12 million metric tons of plastic enter our oceans every year. This is expected to double in the next 10 years. In South East Asia 5 nations are creating more plastic ocean waste than the rest of the world combined.

Indonesia's plastic problem is a state emergency. Thailand has closed public access to islands and beaches. In the Philippines, whales are dying with stomachs 40kg full of plastic. It's "real" for us in South East Asia as we see this pollution first hand, it's not a case of turning off the TV. It's everywhere we go. We are literally drowning in plastic waste.

The thing is, we're not just drowning in plastic, we're eating it. Plastic is in our digestive systems. This is unsurprising when Greenpeace East Asia found microplastics in 90 per cent of the table salt brands sampled worldwide. They also shared that the average adult could ingest approximately 2,000 microplastics each year through salt alone.

We know microplastics harm marine life, but what about us?

Currently, the health impact of microplastics in the human diet is unknown. Along with these plastics come their processing chemicals, which have been linked to brain damage, weight gain and cancer. Scientists currently do not know whether human bodies are absorbing these new additions to our food chain or if they are just "passing through". What we do know, is that there is a lot more we need to know. To that aim, Green is the New Black & Dentsu Singapore produced the film; Plastic Salt for World Earth Day (April 22). Through the simple motif of a salt grinder, we visualized the microplastic pollution crisis. Using recycled plastic, we 3-d printed miniature common plastic objects to look like salt then filmed the consumer reaction. We need people to be aware that microplastic pollution is a "real" problem. It's not just harming our environment but it's actually in us, and something we cannot physically ignore.

Microplastics are a complex issue and can't be solved overnight. When you "throw away" plastic it doesn't disappear. Best case scenario it is recycled into new items. Unfortunately, 91% of plastic isn't recycled and can end up in our digestive system as microplastic.

What you can do is take these #LittleGreenSteps to reduce, reuse and recycle single-use plastic everyday.

1. Say NO to single-use plastic straws, bags, cutlery - in general, if it's plastic, think twice!

2. Avoid buying food with excessive plastic packaging and bring reusable bags with you.

3. Use a reusable coffee cup and water bottle.

4. Avoid cosmetic products with microbeads.

5. Advocate for a zero single-use plastic policy or help to implement solutions to reduce plastic waste for your company.

6. Vote for people in power who can make change happen.

7. Share our film Plastic Salt to raise awareness.

Together we need to educate more people and fast.

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Green is the New Black and Dentsu Singapore create "Plastic Salt" for World Earth Day. Hopefully, this isn't news to you, but we have a global plastic pollution crisis. That means 12 million metric tons of plastic enter our oceans every year. This is expected to double in the next 10 years.

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Red Sea to ban using single-use plastic starting June: HEPCA - Egypt Today

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Red Sea to ban using single-use plastic starting June: HEPCA - Egypt Today

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CAIRO - 2 April 2019: Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Association (HEPCA) said that Red Sea Governor Ahmed Abdullah announced banning the use of single-use plastic starting June 1st, due to its serious environmental damages.

HEPCA, an NGO specialized in conserving marine and land in Egypt's Red Sea, said that the use of disposable plastic causes the death of hundreds of thousands of living creatures in the world.

The decision comes to "protect the threatened and endangered species which are severely affected by ingestion, starvation, suffocation, drowning, entanglement and toxicity from plastic remains which affects the human health accordingly," HEPCA explained

The governorate will prevent factories from producing or distributing plastic bags in the city, according to HEPCA.

The decision to ban the use of the disposable plastic will apply to food outlets, coffee shops, supermarkets, butchers, groceries, pharmacies and other facilities, according to HEPCA, excluding the use of heavy duty garbage bags from the ban.

"HEPCA will be launching an awareness campaign about the negative impacts of plastic on marine life and human health, in addition to on ground activation with events, giving lectures for public and private schools, clean-up campaigns for islands, beaches and underwater in collaboration with schools, diving centers, and the red sea community," the organization said.

In June last year, former Ministry of Environment participated in the 2018 World Environment Day under the theme "Beat Plastic Pollution", which focuses on how plastic, one of the most dangerous pollutants, affects our ecosystems and environment.

Khaled Fahmy said the ministry launched in 2017 a new national initiative to reduce the consumption of plastic bags, and use biodegradable bags as well as long term bags.

Fahmy said during the celebrations of the World Environment Day that bags made of recycled fabric are a better alternative for plastic, adding that plastic bags will no longer be available for free.

In the same context, Mohamed Shehab, CEO of the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA), said that the national EU-funded initiative to reduce the consumption of plastic bags has been launched on June 5, 2017, during which around 4.5 million tons of biodegradable plastic bags were distributed in 18 months.

He further explained that Egypt is committed to the 2030 strategic development plan for sustainable development to stop using plastic bags, remarking that several Arab and African countries have already done so.

He said that Egypt consumes 12 billion tons of single-use plastic bags annually, at a cost of LE 2 billion, adding that the agency tends to reduce the use of plastic bags through encouraging producers to manufacture disposable and paper bags.

In line with the global move to reduce the consumption of plastic bags, Fahmy extended the activities of his ministry's new national initiative called "Enough Plastic Bags."

Fahmy participated on May 4 in an initiative by distributing 4,500 non-woven bags as alternatives to traditional non-recycled plastic bags. About 4,500 eco-friendly biodegradable plastic bags, which decompose through living organisms, have been circulated since the launch of the initiative.

Many animals die after swallowing these plastic bags. Plastic bags are also often burned, releasing toxic fumes into the atmosphere.

As part of the initiative, the Ministry of Environment has launched a public advertisement campaign to raise awareness on the hazard of plastic bags.

Many other African counties have launched initiatives to put an end to the plastic bag hazard. In 2008, Rwanda became one of the first African countries to impose a complete ban on thin plastic bags as part of its Vision 2020 plan for sustainability. Currently, all plastic bags used in Rwanda are biodegradable.

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Red Sea to ban using single-use plastic starting June: HEPCA

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CAIRO - 2 April 2019: Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Association (HEPCA) said that Red Sea Governor Ahmed Abdullah announced banning the use of single-use plastic starting June 1st, due to its serious environmental damages.

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MEG: Hi BTN I'm Meg from Mornington Peninsula, Victoria and I'm really excited that Coles and Woolworths have put a price on single use plastic bags and that's just the start.

As you can tell Meg is pretty passionate about plastic.

MEG: I'm passionate about banning plastic bags because I've grown up on the Mornington Peninsula where there are bays all around me. I've come to realise that our precious marine life are getting killed by the so called innocent plastic bag.

For the past 5 years, she's been campaigning to have single-use plastic bags banned from all shops in Australia. It's something South Australia, Tasmania, the ACT and the Northern Territory already do. If you live in one of these states or territories instead of plastic bags customers have to bring their own reusable bags to supermarkets or they can purchase tougher plastic bags that can be reused. But Meg is hoping to make that ban national. She's been working hard collecting signatures for a petition to ban plastic bags and has even written to some politicians.

MEG: I've been campaigning for 5 years now and I have written letters to Malcolm Turnbull, Josh Frydenberg and other local, state and federal ministers. I've had a response from multiple ministers including Malcolm Turnbull himself and Josh Frydenberg. They've said that it's up to local ministers to do something about it.

Plastic bags are really bad for the environment because they can take 1000 years to decompose and a lot of them end up in our waterways.

MEG: Over 5 trillion pieces of plastic end up in our ocean, 80% of that are plastic bags. Turtles think they're jelly fish so they eat, swallow then choke and die on our plastic bags. That's why we need to stop plastic bags, you can do something!

In the past, some supermarkets have provided drop off points where customers can recycle their used plastic bags. But now Woolworths and Coles have announced they'll be phasing out single use plastic bags in all of their stores.

BRAD BANDUCCI, WOOLWORTHS GROUP CEO: We've been looking at the feedback we get back from our customers, as well as the impact on the environment, and think it's an important thing to do and part of our commitment to a greener, more sustainable Australia. It's something Meg has been waiting to hear for a long time.

MEG: It's really good that Coles and Woolworths have put a price on single use plastic bags, but we really need to stop plastic bags all together.

She says she'll now be putting her efforts into getting smaller supermarkets to agree to a phase out too.

MEG: I also want to get local independent supermarkets on board. I'm going to write letters to them like I have to local, state and federal ministers.

Meg says it's important for kids like her to get involved.

MEG: I really want to spread the word to our generation because although children are 20% of the population we will be 100% of the future. Because we are the next generation and it is our world soon.

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Australia's two biggest supermarket chains have announced they're both phasing-out single-use plastic bags nationwide. The move is a big win for those campaigning for a ban on these types of bags like 12-year old Meg. We spoke to her to find out how she felt after the phase out was announced, and what her campaign is aiming for next.

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Single-use Plastic Ban - Behind the News - YouTube

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Single-use Plastic Ban - Behind the News - YouTube

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Single-use Plastic Ban - Behind the News

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Straw No More Campaign - Classroom - BTN

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Straw No More Campaign - Classroom - BTN

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MOLLY: Hi BTN my name is Molly Steer and I'm here to tell you why straws really do suck. Straws might seem like the perfect thing to help quench your thirst. But they're actually causing some big problems for the environment. As you might of heard plastic pollution is a major problem on land and in the ocean where animals like sea birds, fish and turtles often mistake them for food. Which can make them really sick and even kill them.

I know that some of us need to use straws. But to most of us plastic straws are really unnecessary. We only use them for a few minutes before throwing them in the bin. And where does it go from there? Did you know that the very first plastic straw you ever used is still on this planet. That's why I'm on a mission to put an end to single use plastic straws. Last year I started a campaign called the Straw No More project. This me giving a Ted Talk back in October. My message was simple: living straw free is really simple all you need to do is make the decision to stop. And it seems to be working. After just one year of campaigning, I've convinced more than one hundred schools and heaps businesses, cafes and bars to do away with them for good. That's like millions of plastic straws that won't end up in landfill or the ocean.

But I didn't stop there with the help of my mum I emailed every council in Australia asking them to support the cause. And just last month I got up in front of my local council in Cairns to convince them to do the same. And, wait for it, it worked! The Cairns regional council have agreed to stop using plastic straws in their offices and events. And they're going to help local businesses to do the same. Now it seems like other places are starting to get the message. Recently the Brisbane Council announced they'll also be getting plastic straws from all council events too.

And it's not just hear in Australia. The UK has announced it'll be banning plastic straws from next year and there are few major cities in the US that have already banned them. Although I can't take credit for that, but it's still really good news. This isn't the end, it's just the beginning. I don't really care how long it takes. I just want to protect the environment and animals from our plastic pollution. So, I'm going to keep campaigning until plastic straws are out of Cairns, out of Queensland, out of Australia and maybe even one day out of the world.

[Additional Footage: The Last Straw on the GBR]

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MOLLY: Hi BTN my name is Molly Steer and I'm here to tell you why straws really do suck. Straws might seem like the perfect thing to help quench your thirst. But they're actually causing some big problems for the environment.

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Here's How Much Plastic Trash Is Littering the Earth

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Here's How Much Plastic Trash Is Littering the Earth

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Here's How Much Plastic Trash Is Littering the Earth | National Geographic

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Singapore shoppers take 820 million plastic bags from supermarkets each year

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Singapore shoppers take 820 million plastic bags from supermarkets each year

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We’re sorry. The page you are looking for appears to have moved or does not exist. Check the URL or try using our search function at the top right. Alternatively, you might want to check out these top stories:

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Do plastics go away when they're in the ocean or Great Lakes? | OR&R's Marine Debris Program

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Do plastics go away when they're in the ocean or Great Lakes? | OR&R's Marine Debris Program

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Do plastics go away when they're in the ocean or Great Lakes? | OR&R's Marine Debris Program

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Plastics will degrade into small pieces until you can't see them anymore (so small you'd need a microscope or better!). But, do plastics fully go away? Full degradation into carbon dioxide, water, and inorganic molecules is called mineralization (Andrady 2003).

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Why is plastic bad for the environment and how much is in the ocean? | The Independent

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Why is plastic bad for the environment and how much is in the ocean? | The Independent

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In recent years, people have started cutting down on plastic consumption, as we have realised the effects plastic can have on the environment and our oceans.

But although most people know that plastic cannot be absorbed back into the environment, there are many that are unaware just how much plastic ends up in our oceans - and how detrimental this can be.

In addition to being bad for the environment, the amount of plastic in the ocean continues to grow - affecting wildlife and humans alike.

How much plastic is in the ocean?

Although it is difficult to identify exactly how much plastic is in the ocean due to micro-particles and the amount that has sunk to the bottom, most scientists estimate that eight million metric tons of plastic end up in our oceans each year - adding to the estimated 150 million metric tons currently circulating our oceans.

To put that number into perspective, the amount is equivalent to a garbage truck full of plastic dumping plastic into the ocean every minute.

And that figure is only expected to increase as plastic production and consumption continue.

According to the Ocean Conservancy, in less than 10 years, scientists predict there will be 250 million metric tons in the ocean and by 2050, there will be more plastic in the oceans than there are fish.

Why is this bad?

The world is currently producing nearly 300 million tons of plastic each year - a significant amount of which will end up in the oceans.

Unfortunately, although plastic is a useful product, many of these products are created for single-use - with an estimated 50 per cent of plastic used once and thrown away.

Not only is this harmful to the environment and the oceans, but it is also harmful to wildlife - where it impacts nearly 700 species in the ocean, and humans.

Recommended

According to the Ocean Conservancy, plastic has been found in more than 60 per cent of all seabirds and 100 per cent of sea turtle species.

Ingesting plastic has life-threatening effects on wildlife - and this plastic eventually ends up being digested by humans.

Brits who consume fish are at risk of consuming 11,000 fragments of plastic each year, according to a recent Belgian study.

And half of all plastic manufactured becomes trash in less than a year.

What plastic can be recycled?

Currently, only nine per cent of the world's plastic is recycled - a problem because most plastics are not biodegradable and typically take more than 400 years to degrade.

And it never fully degrades, rather it breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces that are eventually ingested by marine life.

Single-use plastics are the worst offenders and include plastic bags, food packaging, and straws.

Most of the plastic produced is used in packaging - which accounts for more than 40 per cent of non-fibre plastic, according to a study published in the journal Science Advances.

However, nearly all solid plastic, such as water bottles, are capable of being recycled.

How can we fix this?

While a complete solution to the plastic problem is likely years away, small changes can make a big difference.

Choosing to forgo straws, as many restaurants have begun to do, lessens the plastic waste and protects wildlife.

Switching to reusable bags when shopping can also make a difference - as single-use plastic bags are a large part of the problem.

And knowing the proper way to recycle common plastics is necessary if humans want to keep plastics from the ocean.

Another potential solution, found recently by accident, relies on a mutant enzyme that is capable of breaking down plastic bottles.

Published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scientists accidentally discovered the enzyme - which could recycle plastic for reuse as plastic and fundamentally reduce the amount of plastic in the environment, according to the study's author, University of Portsmouth professor John McGeehan.

If each person dedicated their attention to the plastic issue, the detrimental effects of plastic on the world could be lessened.

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This is how much plastic is in the ocean

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In recent years, people have started cutting down on plastic consumption, as we have realised the effects plastic can have on the environment and our oceans. But although most people know that plastic cannot be absorbed back into the environment, there are many that are unaware just how much plastic ends up in our oceans - and how detrimental this can be.

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How Plastic Pollutes Our Food Chain | This New World - YouTube

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How Plastic Pollutes Our Food Chain | This New World - YouTube

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How Plastic Pollutes Our Food Chain | This New World

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Plastics have entered humans food chains, study shows

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Plastics have entered humans food chains, study shows

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PARIS (AFP) - Bits of plastic have been detected in the faeces of people in Europe, Russia and Japan, according to research claiming to show for the first time the widespread presence of plastics in the human food chain.

All eight volunteers in a small pilot study were found to have passed several types of plastic, with an average of 20 micro-particles per 10g of stool, researchers reported on Tuesday (Oct 23) at a gastroenterology congress in Vienna.

The scientists speculated that the tiny specks - ranging in size from 50 to 500 micrometres - may been ingested via seafood, food wrapping, dust or plastic bottles.

A human hair is roughly 50 to 100 micrometres in width.

"In our laboratory, we were able to detect nine different types of plastics," said Bettina Liebmann, a researcher at the Federal Environment Agency, which analysed the samples.

The two most common were polypropylene - found in bottle caps, rope and strapping - and polyethylene, present in drinking bottles and textile fibres.

Together with polystyrene (utensils, cups, coolers) and polyethylene (plastic bags), they accounted for more than 95 per cent of the particles detected.

"We were unable to establish a reliable connection between nutritional behaviour and exposure to microplastics," said lead author Philipp Schwabl, a researcher at the Medical University of Vienna.

In earlier studies on animals, the highest concentrations of microplastics were found in the stomach and intestines, but smaller amounts have also been detected in blood, lymph and the liver.

"There are initial indications that microplastics can damage the gastrointestinal tract by promoting inflammatory reactions or absorbing harmful substances," Schwabl said.

"Further studies are needed to assess the potential dangers of microplastics for humans."

Schwabl recruited five women and three men, aged 33 to 65, in Finland, the Netherlands, Britain, Italy, Poland, Russia, Japan and Austria.

Each kept a week-long log of what they ate, and then provided a stool sample.

All consumed foods wrapped in plastic and beverages in plastic bottles, and six ate seafood. None were vegetarians.

HEALTH IMPACTS UNKNOWN

Scientists not involved in the study said it was too limited in scope to draw any firm conclusions, especially about health impacts.

"I'm not at all surprised, or particularly worried by these findings," commented Alistair Boxall, a professor in environmental science at the University of York in Britain.

"Microplastics have been found in tap water, bottled water, fish and mussel tissue, and even in beer," he added. "It is therefore inevitable that at least some of these things will get into our lungs and digestive system."

Much more research is needed, he said, before we can determine the origin of plastics found in the gut, and especially whether they are harmful.

For Stephanie Wright, a researcher at King's College London, the real question is whether plastics are accumulating in the human body.

"What is unknown is whether the concentration of plastic being ingested is higher than that coming out, due to particles crossing the gut wall," she said.

"There is no published evidence to indicate what the health effects might be."

Global plastic production has grown rapidly, and is currently more than 400 million tonnes per year. It is estimated that 2 per cent to 5 per cent of plastics wind up in the ocean, where much of it breaks down into tiny particles.

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Plastics have entered human food chain, study shows

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PARIS (AFP) - Bits of plastic have been detected in the faeces of people in Europe, Russia and Japan, according to research claiming to show for the first time the widespread presence of plastics in the human food chain.. Read more at straitstimes.com.

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Plastic Pollution Is Now Spreading From Ocean Food Chains Into Land Animals, Thanks to This Insect

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Plastic Pollution Is Now Spreading From Ocean Food Chains Into Land Animals, Thanks to This Insect

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We know that plastic pollution is a major problem for the world's oceans, but scientists just discovered a new way that discarded microplastics are making their way out of the water and into other food chains - through mosquitoes.

What's happening is mosquito larvae are ingesting microplastics as water-dwelling larvae, and those plastic particles are sticking around as they transition into flying mosquitoes.

Those adult insects provide tasty snacks for birds and bats in the air above, which means microplastics are now ending up in the stomachs of land animals, not just marine creatures.

This process is technically known as ontogenic transference, meaning it happens as the organism matures and moves habitats.

Once the plastic-carrying mosquitoes have been eaten by birds and bats, the pollution can then make it further into other food chains and ecosystems, according to the researchers from the University of Reading in the UK.

"This is eye-opening research, which has shown us for the first time that microplastics are able to navigate several life stages in flying insects, allowing them to contaminate all kinds of living creatures who would not normally be exposed to them," says one of the researchers, biological scientist Amanda Callaghan.

"It is a shocking reality that plastic is contaminating almost every corner of the environment and its ecosystems."

Callaghan and her colleagues fed fluorescent plastic microbeads to mosquito larvae in lab conditions then monitored their growth through a microscope.

The plastic remained in place through the non-feeding pupal stage and into the adult insect, via the Malpighian tubules (structures equivalent to the human kidneys).

Microplastics like these can take hundreds of years to be broken down in the environment, and the study showed that the smaller the plastic beads were, the more likely they were to stick around in the bodies of the mosquitoes.

We already know that plastics polluting our oceans and waterways can have a damaging effect on wildlife and make progress through the food chain.

Now we know these harmful, microscopic fragments stick around as mosquitoes change form and make their way out of the water too.

Friends of the Earth plastics campaigner Emma Priestland, who wasn't involved in the research, said the findings were "disturbing".

"Knowing that plastic can be transferred from the larval stage to the adult mosquito, which then serves as food to a multitude of larger animals, highlights the urgency with which we need to drastically reduce our use of plastic," Priestland told the BBC.

As well as mosquitoes, insects like mayflies, dragonflies and midges start life in ponds and puddles before making their way into the outside world, where they're often eaten by bigger creatures - so the problem could go way beyond the boundaries of this study.

We know that as plastic seeps into the natural world it can get passed further and further between animals and ultimately have serious consequences for natural ecosystems.

Let's hope this new study helps underline the potential scale of the problem and spurs efforts to cut back on plastic use.

"Much recent attention has been given to the plastics polluting our oceans, but this research reveals it is also in our skies," says Callaghan.

The research has been published in Biology Letters.

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Plastic Pollution Is Now Spreading From Ocean Food Chains Into Land Animals, Thanks to This Insect

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We know that plastic pollution is a major problem for the world's oceans, but scientists just discovered a new way that discarded microplastics are making their way out of the water and into other food chains - through mosquitoes.

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How you’re eating microplastics – and don’t even realise | The Independent

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How you’re eating microplastics – and don’t even realise | The Independent

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We're increasingly aware of how plastic is polluting our environment. Much recent attention has focused on how microplastics - tiny pieces ranging from 5 millimetres down to 100 nanometres in diameter - are filling the seas and working their way into the creatures that live in them. That means these ocean microplastics are entering the food chain and, ultimately, our bodies.

But fish and shellfish aren't our only food sources that can contain microplastics. And, in fact, other sources that don't come from the sea might be much more worrying.

A portion of consumer-grade mussels in Europe could contain about 90 microplastics. Consumption is likely to vary greatly between nations and generations, but avid mussel eaters might eat up to 11,000 microplastics a year.

It's harder to know how many microplastics we might be consuming from fish. Most studies to date have only analysed the stomach and gut content of these organisms, which are usually removed prior to consumption. But one study has found microplastics in fish liver, suggesting particles can get from digestive tissues to other body parts.

Microplastics have also been found in canned fish. Numbers identified were low, so the average consumer might only eat up to five microplastics from a portion of fish this way. The particles found might also come from the canning process or from the air.

Another marine food source of microplastics is sea salt. One kilogram can contain over 600 microplastics. If you eat the maximum daily intake of 5 grams of salt, this would mean you would typically consume three microplastics a day (although many people eat much more than the recommended amount).

However, other studies have found varying amounts of microplastics in sea salt, possibly because of different extraction methods used. This is a widespread problem in microplastics research that makes it hard or impossible to compare studies. For example, one study seems to only have looked for microfibres (tiny strands of artificial materials such as polyester) while a further study only looked for microplastics larger than 200 micrometres.

The sea salt study mentioned above didn't attempt to remove and count all the microplastics from its salt samples and instead gave an estimate based on the proportion of particles that were recovered. This means it showed 1 kilogram of salt contained at least 600 microplastics - but the actual figure could be a lot higher.
Non-marine sources
Despite these findings, other research demonstrates that far more microplastics in our food are likely to come from other sources than the sea. Land animals also eat microplastics although - as with fish - we tend not to eat their digestive systems. There's limited data about this part of the food industry, but a study of chickens raised in gardens in Mexico found an average of 10 microplastics per chicken gizzard - a delicacy in some parts of the world.

Scientist have also found microplastics in honey and beer. We might be swallowing tens of microplastics with each bottle of the latter.

Perhaps the biggest known source of microplastics that we consume is bottled water. When researchers examined a variety of types of glass and plastic water bottles, they found microplastics in most of them. Single-use water bottles contained between two and 44 microplastics per litre, while returnable bottles (designed for collection under a deposit scheme) contained between 28 and 241 microplastics per litre. The microplastics came from the packaging, which means we could be exposing ourselves to more of them every time we fill up a plastic bottle in order to reduce waste.

There is also evidence that microplastics in food come from indoor dust. A recent study estimated that we could get an annual dose of almost 70,000 microplastics from the dust that settles on to our dinner - and that is only one of our daily meals.

So, yes, we are eating small numbers of microplastics from marine products. But it may only take drinking a litre of bottled water a day to consume more microplastics than you would from being an avid shellfish eater. And the other question scientists have yet to answer when it comes to microplastics in our food is how much harm they actually do.
Christina Thiele is a PhD candidate in marine microplastics and Malcolm David Hudson is associate professor in environmental sciences at the University of Southampton. This article first appeared on TheConversation.com

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You're eating microplastics - and don't even realise

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We're increasingly aware of how plastic is polluting our environment. Much recent attention has focused on how microplastics - tiny pieces ranging from 5 millimetres down to 100 nanometres in diameter - are filling the seas and working their way into the creatures that live in them.

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Why is plastic harmful? – Plastic Pollution Coalition

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Why is plastic harmful? – Plastic Pollution Coalition

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How Plastic is Entering into our Food Chain - Green Clean Guide

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How Plastic is Entering into our Food Chain - Green Clean Guide

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Can you imagine a world without your phone, heavy machines, automobiles and most home appliances? For most of us the answer is no, which is why imagining a world without plastic is nearly impossible. The invention of plastic is credited to Alexander Parkes in London in 1862. The form of plastic was called Parkesine and was made using an organic material extracted from cellulose. Cellulose when heated can be moulded in any shape and retains its original form when cooled. Later, cellulose was replaced by more feasible versions of the product like Bakelite.

Over the years, fundamental properties of plastic like its flexibility, ductility and malleability led to its use in various industrial processes. Thanks to technological innovation, manufacturing plastic has also become more affordable over the years. Plastic is known for its application, which meant it can be used to for multiple purposes, plus it was available in different colours. The decline in oil prices also brought down its price as petroleum is an important raw material used in production of plastic. Since its invention, the production has grown almost 20-fold.

It might be cheap to manufacture, the earth and its ecosystem have had to pay a huge price for using plastic. The invention has been vitiating the environment with toxicity. For starters, it is contaminating the air because of plastic microparticles are washed away into the sewage system. From there, they might end up in the sea or in agricultural fields as fertilizer. Either way, they are either blown by the wind. Around 79% of the plastic produced in the last 70 years has been thrown away either in the environment or in landfills. Moreoever, over eight million tonnes of plastic is disposed in the oceans every year and it is estimated that by 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean. Environmentalists have predicted that by 2050, almost 99% of all seabirds on Earth might have consumed some quantity of plastic.

Plastic owes many of its properties to its chemical composition. It is basically any kind of semi-synthetic or synthetic organic polymer. Apart from carbon and hydrogen, plastic is also made up of other elements. Though plastics can be manufactured using organic polymer but for industrial purposes plastic is manufactured using petrochemicals. The commonly used polymers-Thermosetting and thermoplastics-are used as additives in plastic production to give the product different qualities.

Waking up to the needs of the environment, various countries in the world are doing their bit to curb use of plastic and recycle it. As per government estimates submitted in Lok Sabha in 2016, over 15,000 tonnes of plastic waste is generated every day in the country and around 40% of its remains untreated. India formulated a new policy for plastic management and waste disposal in 2016. In 2017, the National Green Tribunal banned the use of plastic cutlery, bags, cups and other types of single-use plastic in New Delhi. However, the ban has had little effect on the use of plastic.

Apart from its application in various fields, plastic has also entered the human food chain and chances are that you are consuming it indirectly, especially microplastics which are pieces of plastic broken down. Many animals living in the sea like the plankton regularly consume microplastics carelessly disposed in the water bodies. These particles may also be contaminated when they exposed to water. By being consumed by marine animals, these harmful microplastics enter the human food chain.

Even the United Nations has recognized the contamination of water bodies by plastic and its byproducts as a major environmental hazard. According to the international organization, there are about 46,000 particles of discarded plastic per square mile of the sea. The presence of plastic in the human chain is a serious issue which threatens the existence of many living creatures. While government need to do much more than paying lip services, citizens' initiatives can go a long way to make a difference. At the same times, food companies should be cautious about where they source plastic raw materials from and how they dispose the waste.

Back in India, the government has stepped up the task of revamping solid waste and plastic waste management. The Union government is planning to ban the use of microbeads in cosmetics. Personal care products like cleansers and exfoliators have microbeads so as to ensure that the product can easily pass through sewage and drain. The disposal of microbeads endangers the aquatic life.

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How Plastic is Entering into our Food Chain - Green Clean Guide

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Can you imagine a world without your phone, heavy machines, automobiles and most home appliances? For most of us the answer is no, which is why imagining a world without plastic is nearly impossible. The invention of plastic is credited to Alexander Parkes in London30

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Plastics have entered human food chain, study shows, Consumer - THE BUSINESS TIMES

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Plastics have entered human food chain, study shows, Consumer - THE BUSINESS TIMES

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[PARIS] Bits of plastic have been detected in the faeces of people in Europe, Russia and Japan, according to research claiming to show for the first time the widespread presence of plastics in the human food chain.

All eight volunteers in a small pilot study were found to have passed several types of plastic, with an average of 20 micro-particles per 10 grams of stool, researchers reported Tuesday at a gastroenterology congress in Vienna.

The scientists speculated that the tiny specks - ranging in size from 50 to 500 micrometres - may been ingested via seafood, food wrapping, dust or plastic bottles.

A human hair is roughly 50 to 100 micrometres in width.

"In our laboratory, we were able to detect nine different types of plastics," said Bettina Liebmann, a researcher at the Federal Environment Agency, which analysed the samples.

The two most common were polypropylene - found in bottle caps, rope and strapping - and polyethylene, present in drinking bottles and textile fibres.

Together with polystyrene (utensils, cups, coolers) and polyethylene (plastic bags), they accounted for more than 95 per cent of the particles detected.

"We were unable to establish a reliable connection between nutritional behaviour and exposure to microplastics," said lead author Philipp Schwabl, a researcher at the Medical University of Vienna.

In earlier studies on animals, the highest concentrations of microplastics were found in the stomach and intestines, but smaller amounts have also been detected in blood, lymph and the liver.

"There are initial indications that microplastics can damage the gastrointestinal tract by promoting inflammatory reactions or absorbing harmful substances," Mr Schwabl said.

"Further studies are needed to assess the potential dangers of microplastics for humans."

Mr Schwabl recruited five women and three men, aged 33 to 65, in Finland, the Netherlands, Britain, Italy, Poland, Russia, Japan and Austria.

Each kept a week-long log of what they ate, and then provided a stool sample.

All consumed foods wrapped in plastic and beverages in plastic bottles, and six ate seafood. None were vegetarians.

Scientists not involved in the study said it was too limited in scope to draw any firm conclusions, especially about health impacts.

"I'm not at all surprised, or particularly worried by these findings," commented Alistair Boxall, a professor in environmental science at the University of York in Britain.

"Microplastics have been found in tap water, bottled water, fish and mussel tissue, and even in beer," he added. "It is therefore inevitable that at least some of these things will get into our lungs and digestive system."

Much more research is needed, he said, before we can determine the origin of plastics found in the gut, and especially whether they are harmful.

For Stephanie Wright, a researcher at King's College London, the real question is whether plastics are accumulating in the human body.

"What is unknown is whether the concentration of plastic being ingested is higher than that coming out, due to particles crossing the gut wall," she said.

"There is no published evidence to indicate what the health effects might be."

Global plastic production has grown rapidly, and is currently more than 400 million tonnes per year.

It is estimated that two to five per cent of plastics wind up in the ocean, where much of it breaks down into tiny particles.

AFP

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Plastics have entered human food chain, study shows

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PARIS] Bits of plastic have been detected in the faeces of people in Europe, Russia and Japan, according to research claiming to show for the first time the widespread presence of plastics in the human food chain.