How You are Eating Plastic!!

Article Written By: Yunji Hwang (Anica)

Issues related to plastic is everywhere, and the serious problems they can cause is well acknowledged to most of our people in modern society. However, no direct solutions are being introduced, while more and more plastic is being produced constantly every day in massive amounts. Why aren’t any distinct resolutions being made for plastic pollution? Why is it that it is possible to make thousands of people volunteer in cleaning up oil in beaches in a few months, while nobody actually cares much about a single plastic bottle floating in the shorelines? Perhaps it is because of our natural instincts to only solve problems that seem desperate in our own eyes. Like how we sleep instead of studying when we know the test is two months later, and study until midnight when we know the test is taking place in the following day, people tend to move only when things actually happen. For these kinds of people who are constantly thinking, “I know how plastic can kill everyone in the far future. I know how we should seriously work on reducing the amount of plastic. But actually, I’ll probably die before anything can influence my own health. So why don’t I just use one more plastic cup for my drink?”, here is an article telling you how you are actually being poisoned every day by plastic, soon to drown in a huge pile of it in the close future.

Plastic is not hundreds of miles away from you, nor is it just in front of you. It is in you. It is not only the poor fish and birds eating plastic; you are, too. According to a new study by scientists at Heriot-Watt University, any meal you eat at home comes with a side of practically invisible plastic particles. The researchers estimate that well over 100 household plastic fibers come to rest on a dinner plate sized area every 20 minutes or so, meaning that as you’re consuming your homemade meal constantly being bombarded by plastic dust. That’s not particularly appetizing. When you eat plastic, the plastic will leave your system after a day since it's small and your body tries to get rid of anything that can't be dissolved or used effectively. However, constantly eating them can leave long-term side effects that you want to avoid. There are chemicals in plastic, the most common called phthalates, which can lead to premature births, asthma, cancer, and abnormal male sexual development. About 14 individual plastic pieces are present in tiny dishes after roughly 20 minutes after meals start. Given that dinner plates are considerably larger than the Petri dishes being used in the tests, researchers calculate that as many as 114 plastic fibers would tumble down on the average person’s meal as they consumed it. The plastics likely come from a number of different sources, including carpeting, clothing, and furniture. The tiny plastic fragments get swept up as dust and many of them eventually find their way into our bodies as we enjoy meals. Stretched out over a longer timeline, the data suggests that the average person consumes somewhere between 14,000 and nearly 70,000 individual pieces of tiny plastic every single year.

Does the above surprise you somehow? Wish it does. It is essential for people to know what is happening to our bodies even in this exact moment. You are enjoying a nice dinner of plastic every day, and this will continue until we start making changes.

Bibliography (MLA 8 FORMAT):

Website Citations:

Website 1:

Wehner, Mike. “New Study Says You're Eating 100 Tiny Chunks of Plastic with Every Meal.” BGR, BGR, 4 Apr. 2018, bgr.com/2018/04/04/eating-plastics-study-every-meal/.

Photo Citations:

Photo 1:

EarthCapades. “Surfrider Foundation - What Goes in the Ocean Goes in You.” EarthCapades, 7 Feb. 2012, www.earthcapades.com/surfrider-foundation-what-goes-in-the-ocean-goes-in-you/.

Photo 2:

Plastictides. “Microplastic Ingestion.” Plastic Tides, Plastic Tides, 8 July 2014, plastictides.wordpress.com/2014/07/08/microplastic-ingestion/.