The Plastic Lifecycle: An ecological and human health catastrophe
By: Ian Babler
Tags: Climate News, Plastic, Energy, Environment, Opinion

About 1.15 to 2.41 million tons of plastic enter the ocean each year from rivers, according to research by Laurent Lebreton, an oceanographer for The Ocean Cleanup. The massive deposit of non-recycled plastic has led to the formation of a 1.6 million square kilometers plastic island, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP). Twice the size of Texas, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a visual representation of the destructive impact that humans have on the Earth. Most people tend to focus on society’s failure to properly dispose of plastic; however, the primary focus should be on the devastating impact the creation of plastic through fossil fuels has on the environment and detrimental nature of a product that contains toxic chemicals.

Ninety-nine percent of plastic derives from fossil fuels with a growing percentage of oil and gas derived from fracking, as per the Center for International Environmental Law. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), fracking consumes 1.5 million gallons of water per well each year, and only a limited amount of the wastewater produced is recycled. Considerable amounts of resources could go to people in need of clean drinking water but are instead being wasted to manufacture a product that is currently destroying many ecosystems.

Photo courtesy of Pixabay

Lauren Patterson, a policy associate at Duke University’s Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, discovered that 2 to 16 percent of hydraulically fractured oil and gas wells spill chemicals each year — potentially entering water supplies. Max Post van der Burg, Chief Research Ecologist with the USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, indicates that the high salinity, often associated with drilling wastewater spills, will kill most plant life and will reduce the soil’s permeability so new plants cannot take root. The creation of plastic hinders plant growth and consumes excessive amounts of essential resources. The end result creates a devastating plastic build up in many environments that will be virtually impossible to stop.

Plastic cannot decompose into organic or environmentally safe waste products; instead, the plastic begins to degrade into microplastics. According to Riccardo Pravettoni, Head of Cartography Division at Norwegian Center for Global Analyses, animals on the lowest part of the food chain will digest the microplastics — leading to the animals receiving much less nutritious than normal and negatively effects reproduction. Animals with trace amounts of microplastics are severely affected. Through biomagnification, the concentration of plastic in organisms will increase from ingesting plants or animals carrying plastic. From the National University of Ireland, Alina Wieczorek’s research revealed “a whopping 73% of the fish having ingested the pollutants” and “found high levels of plastic fibers such as those used in Textiles.” The concentrations found in the Mesopelagic fish, like mackerel, are a result of biomagnification from eating small organisms like phytoplankton and zooplankton.

Many scientists worry about how the increases of microplastic in people’s diets will affect human health. According to the EPA, even with low concentrations in environments, PBT plastics — often used for food processing machinery and electrical parts — can lead to toxic effects at higher trophic levels. Humans, being on a high trophic level, can receive many toxins that can have a massive negative impact on human health.

Not only is the plastic creation process wrought with ecologically devastating long-term repercussions, but the end product is also harmful to human health. According to research conducted by Rolf Halden, associate professor at Arizona State University, toxic chemicals can leach out of plastic and are linked to cancers, congenital defects, impaired immunity, endocrine disruption and other ailments. Furthermore, research conducted by Paul Brandt-Rauf, a professor at Drexel University, revealed that Polyvinyl chloride, one of the most manufactured plastics in the world, contains vinyl chloride — a well-established animal and human carcinogen. Carol Kwiatkowski, executive director of The Endocrine Disruption Exchange, said that “anything that interferes with hormone action potentially affects a very low dose.” Kwiatkowski adds that plastic, no matter the level, could be harmful to the human endocrine system. There is extremely limited research to quantify the exact effects of long term exposure to plastic on human health; however, what is clear is that the toxins in plastic can be found in nearly everyone’s blood and tissue. The negative effects linked to plastic could potentially impact anyone.

Photo courtesy of Alex Fu

Many people turn to recycling, a failing system, to prevent the accumulation of plastic in the environment. According to the EPA, only about 8.4 percent of plastic is recycled. The minuscule amount of plastic recycled is not due to a lack of consumer motivation or access to recycling programs; but rather, the United States and other countries merely do not have the proper infrastructure to recycle all the different types of plastic. According to the BBC, all plastic is recyclable, but recycling is not always economically feasible. Many single-use plastics, like plastic bags, cups and takeout boxes, are rarely recycled. Virtually all single-use plastics will end up invading an ecosystem.

The inadequate infrastructure to reuse plastic is leading to the formation of many trash vortexes like the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The GPGP, three times the size of France, blocks sunlight that is necessary for plant survival. Plants’ death ushers the destruction of the food chain, causing the death of marine animals. The increase of carbon from the destruction of the plants (carbon sinks) leads to an alarming rise in global temperatures. According to Lebreton, 46 percent of the GPGP is fishnets. The abundance of fishnets is fostering an environment that allows animals to easily choke on plastic.

Plastic, a standard household product, is praised for its low-cost, durability, malleability and long-lasting quality. However, plastic companies focus on the short-term economic gain and choose to ignore the long-term ramifications of plastic — the negative health effects, the toxins released into the environment and the death of millions of animals. With no solution to decompose safely and no effective recycling program, plastics will forever negatively impact the Earth. Companies will continue to exponentially increase the production of plastic and will manufacture an issue that humans may never be able to combat.

Many recommend converting to a zero-plastic lifestyle, but most products from clothing to food contain plastic. The first step to a zero plastic lifestyle is to stop using single-use plastic — notorious for never being recycled. Simple solutions to limiting plastic consumption include using a fabric grocery bag, avoiding straws and buying products stored in glass containers. As a citizen, people can petition local officials to ban single-use plastic from their community. People can also donate to organizations that are developing innovative technologies to rid the world’s oceans of plastic, like The Ocean Cleanup. Recycling is ineffective, and the only way to combat plastic’s negative impacts is to stop using plastic immediately before the Earth cannot recover from the toxic plastic.