Discharging old contact lenses into the toilet - a huge danger to the environment

Although an effective tool to improve eyesight and vision in people with short-sighted contact lenses, contact lenses are also one of the causes of environmental pollution and creating micro-plastic particles, killing many species , even people.

Contact lenses are a perfect item to help improve vision in people with short-sightedness. It is quite compact and offers more comfort for wearers than eyeglasses. However, because it is too small and easy to destroy, the contact lenses are accidentally turned into a serious source of environmental pollution.

Contact lenses are responsible for producing microscopic plastic particles on rivers, lakes and oceans.

According to a recent study presented at the 256th National Conference of the American Chemical Society, contact lenses are the cause of pollution and the production of microscopic plastic particles in rivers, lakes and oceans.

Dr. Rolf Halden of Arizona State University, who led the study, said: "I wore both eyeglasses and contact lenses throughout my life. But I began to wonder if anyone had studied people. How do we destroy contact lenses after they are no longer used? "

Halden, one of the three members of the research group, said the group studied the plastic particle pollution that occurred after the disposal of used contact lenses.

There are 15-20% of contact lens wearers who are putting glasses on the sink or toilet.

As a result, they found a large amount of about 6-10 tons of contact lenses in US wastewater. Most contact lenses are located at the bottom of the sewer line.

Rolsky said: "We started monitoring the US market and conducting surveys on contact lens wearers. The group found that 15-20% of contact lens wearers were putting glasses down the sink or toilet. This is a huge number because there are about 45 million Americans wearing contact lenses. "

However, the team seems to have a hard time determining how many contact lenses are affecting the environment. Unlike other plastic wastes mainly containing polypropylene, contact lenses are made from a combination of silicones, uoropolymers and methylmethacrylate.

Contact lenses are more likely to break than other plastics when exposed to the environment

The team looked at the polymers used to make contact lenses from five manufacturers, then collected contact lens samples from wastewater treatment plants. Rolf Halden and his team found that contact lenses are more fragile than other plastics when exposed to the environment. Because contact lenses are not decomposed in the treatment plant, they are susceptible to passing the sewage to the outside.

Kelkar explained: "When the structure of the plastic is broken, it creates smaller plastic particles called microplastic (plastic particles less than 5 nm)."

The impact of contact lenses if not treated will be very large, but the authors affirmed that more research is needed to accurately assess all the effects.

Halden expects that contact lens manufacturers will have new contact lens manufacturing technologies capable of decomposing or at least minimizing the impact of contact lenses with soil and sea environments.