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Plastic pollution is the accumulation of plastic objects and particles (e.g. plastic bottles, bags and microbeads) in the Earth's environment that adversely affects humans, wildlife and their habitat. [1] [2] Plastics that act as pollutants are categorized by size into micro-, meso-, or macro debris. [3]
Marine products are particularly concerning sources of ingestion-related exposure due to the accumulation of MNPs in aquatic environments. Fish, bivalves, and other seafood are frequently contaminated with MNPs ingested through water and food, and humans consuming these animals are thus directly exposed to MPs embedded in tissue.
During the construction process single use plastic containers and wrappers are discarded adding to plastic waste. [91] These plastics are difficult to recycle and end up in landfills where they break down over a long period of time causing potential leaching into the soil and the release of airborne microplastics.
Research published last year in the journal Environmental Science & Technology found that using a plastic cutting board can create up to 7,680 flecks of plastic, which can end up in your food ...
Whats worse is that the size of the ingested material is ultimately limited by the size of the organism. [4] For example, microplastics consumed by planktons and fishes can consume cigarettes boxes. [4] [6] Plastic can also obstruct or perforate the gut, cause ulcerative lesions, or gastric rupture. [4] [6] This can ultimately lead to death.
A more recent concern in microplastic pollution is the use of plastic films in agriculture. 7.4 million tons of plastic film are used each year to increase food production. [22] Scientists have found that microbial biofilms can form within 7–14 days on plastic film surfaces, and have the ability to alter the chemical properties of the soil ...
“The answer to our plastic problem is not to create a new stream of need for more plastics, with potentially harmful effects, but it should be to limit single-use plastics, turning off the tap ...
Ideonella sakaiensis is a bacterium from the genus Ideonella and family Comamonadaceae capable of breaking down and consuming the plastic polyethylene terephthalate (PET) using it as both a carbon and energy source. The bacterium was originally isolated from a sediment sample taken outside of a plastic bottle recycling facility in Sakai City ...