Activity 3.3.3-My Plastic Use

 My Plastic Use

What is Microplastics

    Microplastic is a piece of plastic from our daily usage that's the size of a 5 millimeter or a size of a a grain of rice. there are 2 parts to this microplastic, the Primary sources is where the plastic is engineered to a smaller piece, which are found in many other products Glitters is considered a microplastic, but in women's cosmetics many were showed that make up like fiber is found in our mascara. The reason it breaks down is because of sciences made it like hoping it would help with our personal and medical reasoning. As for the secondary source for this plastic it was also created from larger broken-down plastic material for an example 2 litter bottles, the mini fibers from a rope or clothing etc. This information is found in the Ted Talk video with our speaker Sarah Dudas and how she was able to explain what it is, how it's found and how it affects us. she also gives us a visual on what to look for in our household to show us what to look for and compare.

Where are they

    These thin as paper fibers or Microplastics are found everywhere dealing with our plastic or the cloth that we wear. Plastic has excited for over 65 years, and we recycle less then 10 of millions of plastics and fibers we use daily. Thanks to Abby Barrows the Marine Research she is using her organization Adventure Science to collect the waters from every water source to see if there was pollution in the sources. These pollutions are found all over the world now, it can be found in different continents, different environments like the land and water and sadly even in animals now.

How do they get there

    It was proven that over 60% of our used produces are thrown away improperly so many of the material goes into our environment and which goes in a cycle, if the animals consume it, we eat the animal, and it get in our system giving us the fiber that's in our body now. So, it's important to be mindful on removing the lint from the dryer or how you dispose your daily usage on how to recycle our materials.

What is the issue

    The issue is that even though these Microplastic are found, there is very limited resources to it. As researchers try explaining the main issue people still don't see how this pollution is one of the major ones found around the world. This pollution is in our food and once we consume it over time our body will have this toxin in our system making us physically and chemically ill. In Abby Barros research she proved that 74% of the water samples around the world so far does have some sort of fiber or plastic, and this location goes as far as the artic and as deep inside the tiniest fish or shrimp. In out Ted Talk they mention a solution on how to start fixing this, instead of using the 3 R's Reduce, Reuse, Recycle which were useful at first but seeing how this has come to a very serious issue, Sarah Recommended that we try the new 3 R's which is Refuse, Rethink, Redesign which I think it's more logical and easier to remember when dealing with how to manage to recycle. With the new R's it questions our quantity instead of our qualities.

My Sample

I used my plastic my remote daily, and I used the makeup box as a recycle box actually it made of fabric on the outside and plastic on the inside but it's able to contain a lot of my makeup and my little plastic flowers.

Website

 Adventure Scientists. (2019, January 10). World class explorers help scientists collect elusive data [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYNmwJlGnC4

TEDx Talks. (2018, May 8). Microplastics are everywhere | Sarah Dudas | TEDxBinghamtonUniversity [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjsrmFUmyh4