I’ve been more and more conscious about microplastics. I was not aware that the laundry and dishwasher pods are just plastic which then goes into the water system.
What can be done to prevent microplastics?
First they came for our Lead based fuel Then they came for our Lead based paint They’re not touching Lead based ammo, because Lead based ammo isn’t killing people. People are killing people.
At some point in your life you realize that you can’t worry about things you don’t have control about
Do pods not just dissolve?
removed by mod
Nothing? Stop using so many plastic things.
Unless everyone changes, there’s microplastic in your drinking water. The problem is so far along that even if we stopped all plastic products sale and manufacturing today, and actively worked to clean out all of the microplastic from the globe on an unprecedented level, we would still have microplastic issues by the time you die, even if you live longer than any human has ever lived before.
This isn’t “it’s hopeless and we shouldn’t bother”, it’s more “there’s more to do than can be done in anyone’s lifetime, so try not to make it any worse”.
It’s good that you’re aware and trying, you should keep doing that. Worrying about it all the time isn’t really helpful. Just try not to unnecessarily contribute to the problem.
I’m not. I’m 52 years old. That ship sailed for me a long time ago.
With all the shit Corps add to food nowadays the less I give a fuck it’s microplastics tbh…
You don’t need to eat that shit though.
Aren’t laundry and dishwasher pods basically gelatin? Which isn’t plastic, it’s made from animal collagen.
Edit: I have educated myself, and it’s PVA; which is essentially wood-glue. PVA is a biodegradable acetate which dissolves completely in water.
It seems that some are made of PVA. It is disputed how damaging PVA is in the water system. New York is considering a ban on it
Yes. Almost half of all microplastic particles are fibers from synthetic clothing. So I avoid buying clothes that are not made with natural materials. I also avoid single use plaatics as much as I can and recycle as much as I can.
Yeah, very little plastic actually gets recycled but its better than none of it.
I think the issue is that people feel empowered to use plastic because they think it ultimately will be recycled.
NPR has done various reporting on this, but essentially the players in the plastic industry have long known that plastic recycling did not work but they actively promoted it (knowing that it would increase plastic usage)
The producers should also be made to collect their waste, or pay for the waste produced so it will be processed properly.
Which they would undoubtedly let the customer pay for when buying their clothes
Yes, so the prices should reflect their actual cost. More natural products would then be cheaper.
Refuse, reuse, recycle is exactly the mantra you’ve unwittingly mentioned. We should be refusing things where possible, it does need legislation to prevent the production of harmful materials in the first place though.
That’s why this is such an issue, that’s 128% microplastic, just between those two things!
Well tires and textiles are the two main culprits.
I found a source that supports your “almost half” number for microplastics contribution from synthetic clothing.
The source is a little lacking in that they don’t have real numbers for synthetic textile contribution to microplastics, just the overall contribution of textiles to micropolution, but they do talk about the relationships between the two.
I bet the bigger impact/microplastic culprit is the clothes themselves.
Not only that, but aside from fossil fuels, what’s the next worst culprit of greenhouse gas emissions? Fashion. Our practices in producing cheap, poorly made replaceable clothes and not making the effort into at least splashing out into clothes that last longer and maybe even repairing what we’ve got is a huge problem.
Most pairs of shoes I buy often don’t last longer than 3 months. And when I do finally get one that lasts longer I wear them till the soles fall out of them. My current pair I’ve had for at least 2-3 years.
What the heck are you doing where shoes only last 3 months?
Don’t forget to check out your local cobbler! What you really want in good shoes are good uppers (the main body of the shoe). The soles have always and forever through history been meant to be replaced after a while, since it’s something you walk on every day.
With some nice leather uppers and a good local cobbler, and you can keep a pair of shoes going for quite a while :)
I guess I need a second set of shoes so when I send my old ones off to the shoe repairer I still have something to wear.
That’s my problem now, Ive only got one good-ish pair, and they ain’t leather
Leather was just an example I gave off the top of my head, since it’s notoriously sturdy, but good shoes by no means need to be leather! Lots of good shoes come in all sorts of materials, so if a pair is treating you well (or it’s all you have), having them resoled when the bottoms wear out could be a good option.
You can find cotton really cheaply as well! You just have to look a bit harder for it
There’s so much clothing already made that, with the exception of underwear or socks, you could assemble a large and diverse wardrobe of good quality plant fiber clothes entirely from 2nd hand clothing bought for as cheap or cheaper than you’d find new polyester stuff. Thrift shops, Vinted, Ebay, Poshmark etc have tons of good stuff for cheaper than retail.
I just hope we can swap them out for hemp ASAP… I really want to get to the point where hemp is only a few bucks more and an elimination of corn subsidies along with a virgin plastics tariff could go a long way
Are you worried about consumption of micro plastics, or contributing to the micro plastic problem?
For consumption: get a reverse osmosis system. Not eating seafood is an interesting idea, but apparently Omega 3s are so healthy they outweigh the heavy metal exposure, apply that however you want to micro plastics. Don’t use plastic dishes or cutlery, don’t microwave plastics, don’t use plastic ladles, flippers, water bottles, etc.
For not contributing: If your garbage is done properly it’s in a landfill. It’s the plastic that makes it to the oceans that’s bad. It’s actually kinda fucked what we can do afaik. Anything that goes into the water is a problem, so any personal products, hygiene products, I wonder about washing synthetic clothes, there’s probably better lists out there.
Landfills are not sustainable, nor is most recycling either.
Just use dishwashing powder and laundry powder/liquid.
Dishwasher pods kinda suck anyway. And most dishwashers have a spot for powder during the prewash, which it’s highly recommended to use. (Look up technology connections videos on the topic)
No. Why worry about things you can’t change?
Not particularly
Not much I can realistically do about them. Consumption on my level has no measurable effect. So, no. I’m going to die of a bowel explosion in a couple decades anyways, according to the cards. If there’s plastic, so be it.
Don’t microwave your food in plastic containers. Pretty easy way to cut a chunk of microplastics from your diet.
Also evidently Ziplock is one of the only brands of plastic storage bags that don’t contain pfas.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/mar/14/plastic-sandwich-bags-pfas-chemicals
I think that being informed can help dilute the worry. Here’s what I’ve learned:
Most microplastics found inside humans come from synthetic clothing followed by car tires. Theres a great Veritasium video on this. Plastic cookware is also a consideration.
Food & Cookware
Don’t buy dishwasher pods, they’re worse for the environment (plastic waste) and worse for your wallet than just a regular fluid container. Both fluid container and pod container are plastic so theres not much improvement to be had there.
My friend with a Chemical Engineering degree tells me that the plastics are stable chemically, and insufficient evidence exists to deem them harmful when left alone in cool temperatures. HOWEVER, unreacted precursor chemicals and thermosets are highly reactive, and new plastics come still coated with this. New car smell? Thats unreacted precursor, and it’s very harmful. Additionally, plastic cookware also gets hot, breaking it down slowly, and potentially making it harmful.
Avoid plastics and “non-stick” coatings in cookware.
Clothing
First thought is to avoid synthetic clothing, but theres a catch… Synthetic clothing is significantly better at blocking harmful UV light from the sun. For example, polyester & Nylon UPF is about 30-50+, whereas cotton is around 5. UPF = SPF generally. For this, I prefer wool (UPF ~40) or denim (UPF 1000+ off the chart). However, thats hot, so using some tight knit polyester shirts is a must in warm climates. Many shirts from retailers like REI have this stuff. So far, the ones I own have never shed noticeably, though that may change.
Why am I talking about sun protection? Remember, the goal is your health, not fearful avoidance of one harm that subjects you to another.
For all fabrics that aren’t expected to protect from the sun, natural fibers are preferred. Included is bedding, towels, bathrobe, pajamas, casual clothing, socks, etc.
Other thoughts
For all of this, my friend says that I probably don’t need to worry, and I have never seen convincing evidence that microplastics are harmful inside the body. Yet, I operate as if it were proven, because I don’t want to risk reading that I’ve been poisoning myself ten years from now.
