If the average life expectancy of a human being is 79, in a lifetime, one person can consume up to 20kg of plastic. This volume is larger than the total volume of the two bins on the road.
Microplastics have been discovered in the most remote locations, from the deep ocean floor to the Arctic ice sheet. Another place where plastic appears is inside our bodies. We breathe in microplastics (microscopic resins) , eat microplastics, and drink plastic infused water every day.
Plastic is not biodegradable. Instead, it breaks into smaller pieces, and eventually lays everywhere, even in the food chain.
Humans can consume the same amount of plastic as a bank card.
Dozens of reports have been published about micro plastics, but the scientific community is only "superficial" at understanding how much plastic we consume and how harmful it is.
A recent study by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) concluded that humans can consume the same amount of plastic as a bank card, mostly in drinking water, but also through other sources such as animals. shellfish. We tend to eat whole foods for these foods so the plastic in their digestive system will also enter the human body.
Based on the findings of the study, Reuters created the following images to illustrate how this plastic actually looked like in different time periods.
Every week: 5 grams of plastic
This is equivalent to a plastic bottle cap and enough plastic to fill a tablespoon of porcelain.
Each month: 21 grams of plastic
This is equivalent to five dice at the casino and enough plastic to fill half a bowl of rice.
Every 6 months: 125 grams of plastic
The yellow plastic is enough to fill a bowl of cereal.
Each year: 250 grams of plastic
The amount of plastic that can be filled with the dinner plate.
Every 10 years: 2.5kg of plastic
Reuters did not have enough scrap plastic to make this comparison. However, a standard life buoy weighs 2.5kg.
In our life: 20kg of plastic
The average life expectancy is 79. Using current estimates of the amount of micro-plastics in our diet and assuming the situation doesn't improve or gets worse, we will consume 20 kg of plastic in the diet. life. This volume is larger than the total weight of two mobile waste bins, each weighing 10 kg as shown below.
"We have been using plastic for decades but we still don't really understand the effects of micro and nano-sized plastic particles on our health," said Thava Palanisami, an expert at Newcastle University in Newcastle. Australia, made for the WWF study, said.
"All we know is that we are eating it and it is potentially poisonous. It is definitely a matter of concern."
