TIP #2 Fight back against Microplastics!

 

Hi- today I'm going to be talking about microplastics: the tiiiiiny pieces of plastic that we are consuming every day. Yep, you read it right, the average human consumes over 70,000 microplastics a year! But what are microplastics? 

Well, since plastics don't biodegrade, they just break into smaller and smaller pieces. Then, when they become less than a centimetre in diameter, they are officially the microplastics I'm talking about. So, the dramatic increase in plastic production has led to the ocean becoming filled with them. Marine life have been eating these plastics, and then we eat the marine life! Studies have found that 100% of baby turtles are born with microplastics in them, and they have even been found in unborn- human- babies.

That's one type of microplastics. The other type are plastics that come off products that we buy. For example, clothes. When we wash our clothes, tiny bits of plastic come off them and are then dumped in the ocean for the cycle to begin again. 

But what can we do?

• One solution is to buy a laundry bag that you put all your clothes in when they go in the washing machine. It catches all the microplastics so they don't end up in the ocean. 
• Reducing the amount of plastic we use so that there is any plastic to have to break down in the first place 
• Avoid buying synthetic clothes, as 100% cotton clothes won't shed microplastics
• Share your knowledge with friends and family!

Good luck! Ayla :)