How many people today grab a takeaway coffee cup from the local cafe to drink on the go? We don’t know, but the number must be enormous.. Most every one of the above have a plastic top that will last 100s of years. Some cafes still use plastic cups that last a similar time. Is 10 minutes of coffee worth 100s of years of trash?
These items can be seen littering our gutters and on our streets all over the place. If they were all cardboard, they would still be littered, but they would, at least, be gone in a short time.
They do not need to be made of plastic.
On the way home from the gym last week, a distance of about 1 km (1/2 mile), I counted the items of plastic litter on the curb as I walked. In that short distance I counted 63 pieces of plastic litter. Plastic drink bottles, bottle tops, candy wrappers, plastic film, polystyrene fragments etc. That seemed to be a lot to me. I guess it is a generational thing. Our parents would have been horrified to see that amount, whereas it seems to go unnoticed by our youth of today. In another 20 years how many pieces will there be on this stretch, -- 200? What will today’s youth think of that new amount then when they are older? Will their children be so readily accepting of a higher amount of litter? Researchers to develop biodegradable replacement for microplastics found in scores of household products
Posted on June 10, 2013 by DrRossH in Plastic Waste NewsIf you’ve been on or near the water, you’ve seen it-the plastic trash that litters oceans, lakes, and streams worldwide. But visible plastic-soda bottles, lighters, flip-flops, combs, rope-may be the least of the problem. Scientists are beginning to realize that what you can’t see, tiny bits of polyethylene or polypropylene called “microplastics,” likely pose a greater threat to marine ecosystems.
“Microplastics have become a big concern in the world’s oceans and estuaries,” says Havens. “We already know that larger plastic items can harm organisms like turtles, seabirds, and fish by interfering with digestion or through strangulation; a concern with microplastics is that they’re even more widely dispersed, and small enough to be eaten by a much more diverse group of organisms. Once ingested, these compounds and anything they’ve absorbed can be magnified up the food chain.”
Discussion · No Comments
There are no responses to "Researchers to develop biodegradable replacement for microplastics found in scores of household products". Comments are closed for this post.Oops! Sorry, comments are closed at this time. Please try again later.