From Landfills to Bloodstreams: The Journey of Microplastics I Blog By Suhani,15, Kolkata

From Landfills to Bloodstreams: The Journey of Microplastics

If you look up and observe your surroundings right now, how many plastic items can you spot? One? Five? Ten? 

There is a 99% chance that the answer is not zero. 

Plastic pollution has been one of our biggest climate crises since the late 20th century. At this point, everyone is aware of its impact on wildlife, the ecosystem, oceans and seas, etc. 

However, the greater problem is the formation of microplastics. They are extremely small pieces of plastic that are formed over the years due to the breakdown of non-recyclable plastic present in oceans and landfills. These microplastics are present in the soil. They then enter the crops and plants that we eat. Not only this, but small fish mistake microplastics for food and eat them. Bigger fish eat the smaller fish, and those are then consumed by even bigger fish, other animals, or humans. This is how microplastics make their way into the food chain. Biomagnification is the term used for this process. Scientists have found traces of microplastics in human blood. 

Plastic has creeped into our lives to such an extent that it is almost impossible to eradicate it completely. Even after great progress in science and technology, we are unable to find a perfect eco-friendly substitute for plastic. While research and development continue and we take small initiatives to reduce our usage of plastic, another step we can take is to correctly dispose of our plastic waste. Waste segregation is an important step we can take to prevent plastic from being wrongfully disposed of in landfills and oceans. Making eco-bricks is a creative solution to prevent the plastic from breaking down into microplastics.

Small changes lead to bigger changes. If we all take little steps to reduce our plastic consumption and correctly dispose off our waste, it can lead to a drastic change. 

–

Suhani Khemka