[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/EW-04-16-12-Microplastics.mp3|titles=EW 04-16-12 Microplastics]
In the iconic 1968 movie The Graduate, the lead character’s future father-in-law gives him one word of advice: “plastics.” He was on to something. Plastics have come to dominate our lives.
From appliances and clothing to an array of containers and children’s toys – plastic is king. And all too often, plastic products have a short lifespan. Some are recycled, but a large fraction ends up polluting the environment.
“It’s going to get worse.”
Dr. Mark Browne is an ecologist at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis…
“Until we start regulating plastics in the same way as we do for medical applications whereby they have to be proved that they’re safe before they’re put on the market, we’ll be causing lots and lots of problems that we won’t know about, and that’s not a very sustainable way to move forward.
When exposed to sunlight, most plastics degrade. Particles of partially degraded plastic are showing up worldwide, especially in the ocean. In the Pacific, due to circular currents, small plastic debris covers some 270,000 sq miles of water.
It is not unusual to find seabirds, sea turtles, and marine fishes with their stomachs filled with plastic residues, which they can’t digest. And Dr. Browne says government and industry have been slow to fund studies of plastics’ effects on wildlife…
“Even though we’ve had the capability to do it, the research hasn’t been supported, so we haven’t been able to find that key bit of information out, which would enable us to do something proactive about the problem.”
Think twice before reaching for plastic. In the U.S., only about 7% of plastic is recycled. We can certainly do better.
Web Extra
Full interview with Dr. Mark Browne, an ecologist at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis…
[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Mark-Browne_full_edited.mp3|titles=Mark Browne_full_edited]Photo, taken on February 28, 2010 using a Nikon D40, courtesy of Kevin Krejci via Flickr.