microplastic

Microplastics and birds

March 19, 2025 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Microplastics are tiny plastic particles, less than 5 millimeters in size, that come from the breakdown of larger plastics, synthetic fibers, microbeads, and tire wear. Microplastics are found in oceans, rivers, soil, and even the air we breathe. These particles can take hundreds of years to degrade, spreading across ecosystems and accumulating in unexpected places, such as deep-sea sediments and Arctic sea ice.

According to a new study by researchers from the University of Texas at Arlington, microscopic plastic pollutants drifting through the air are lodging in the lungs of birds. These findings raise significant concerns about the impact on their respiratory health, but also raise alarms about potential risks to human health.

Birds were chosen for the study because they are found in almost every corner of the world and often share environments with humans.

In the study, the research team examined 56 different wild birds from 51 distinct species, all sampled from the Tianfu airport in western China. The researchers found high concentrations of microplastics in bird lungs, with an average of 221 particles per species. The most common types identified were chlorinated polyethylene, which is used for insulating pipes and wires, and butadiene rubber, which is a synthetic material in tires.

Although there is no established “safe” level of plastic particles in lung tissue, high levels of microplastics have been linked to serious health risks, including heart disease, cancer, respiratory issues, and fertility problems.

The study highlights an urgent need to tackle plastic pollution in the environment because of its far-reaching impact on ecosystems and human health.

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Birds breathe in dangerous plastics—and so do we

Photo, posted January 28, 2017, courtesy of Pete Richman via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Turning Trash Into Treasure

December 12, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Every year, 380 million tons of plastic are created worldwide, and that number continues to grow. Furthermore, more than 75% of these materials are discarded after one use. Much of it ends up in oceans and waterways, harming wildlife and spreading toxins.

Recycling most plastics is difficult because while they can be melted and reprocessed, the resultant material is not as structurally strong as the original material. Thus, plastics are often down-cycled such as turning plastic bottles into molded park benches.

Researchers at Northwestern University, Argonne National Laboratory, and Ames Laboratory have developed a new method for upcycling abundant, seemingly low-value plastics into high-quality liquid products, such as motor oils, lubricants, detergents, and even cosmetics. The catalytic method could remove plastic pollution from the environment and contribute to a circular economy.

Plastics don’t degrade when disposed of because they have very strong carbon-carbon bonds. Instead they just break into smaller bits, known as microplastics. The researchers viewed these strong bonds as an opportunity rather than a problem.

The new technique actually recoups the high energy that holds these bonds together by catalytically converting polyethylene molecules into value-added commercial products. The catalyst consists of platinum nanoparticles deposited onto perovskite nanocubes. Under moderate pressure and temperature, the catalyst cleaves the carbon-carbon bonds in plastic to produce high-quality liquid hydrocarbons.

The researchers believe these findings could lead to a future in which we can continue to benefit from plastic materials but do so in a way that is sustainable and less harmful to the environment.

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Turning plastic trash into treasure

Photo, posted August 15, 2012, courtesy of Emilian Robert Vicol via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

The Problem Of Microplastics

February 15, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

In recent years, there have been multiple reports of microplastic contamination seemingly everywhere: in the ocean, in lakes and rivers, in beverages and foods, and in the bodies of birds, fish, and even people. As the world tries to come to grips with this growing problem, there are many things that we simply don’t know.

Microplastics are usually formed by the breakdown of larger pieces of plastic. Shopping bags and cups degrade into microplastics. Microfiber clothing generates microplastics in washing machines. And some manufacturers still intentionally add microplastics to personal care products like toothpaste and facial scrubs.

Technically, a microplastic is any piece of plastic measuring five millimeters in size down to one micron – which is one thousandth of a millimeter. But there can be even smaller plastic particles classified as sub-microplastics and even nanoplastics.

A real concern is that it is not actually clear how dangerous microplastics are for living organisms. We know that aquatic and terrestrial species – including humans – can and do absorb microplastic particles, but whether there is actual toxicity and the nature of any detrimental effects is not yet well understood.

Another real problem is that it is actually not easy to distinguish microplastics from other particles in a given sample. When you are looking at a particle that is smaller than a millimeter in size, it is not easy to tell whether it is a grain of sand, a bit of cellulose from a plant, or a microplastic. There are reliable and definitive ways to analyze samples for microplastics, but they are not as simple and commonplace as just looking through a microscope.

Microplastics are a rapidly growing problem and we don’t even really know how big and how bad the problem is.

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How dangerous is microplastic?

Photo, posted January 10, 2015, courtesy of Daria Nepriakhina via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.