Dr. Sherri Mason on Microplastics
Dr. Sherri Mason’s presentation held the attention of the audience for well over an hour as she shared with us crucial information she has gathered about plastics pollution and what can be done about it. Here are some highlights:
All of the Great Lakes have high levels of microplastics in them, yet Erie and Ontario have the highest levels.
The most concerning form of microplastics are microfibers (which are thinner than a human hair) that come from clothing such as clothing made from polyester, nylon and Lycra. Washing those synthetic clothes releases millions of microfibers into waste water as well as into the air we breath as the clothes are dried.
Microplastics have been found not only in pregnant women, but also in their unborn babies.
Babies have been found to have continuing exposure to microplastics due to their habits such as crawling on the floor (where microplastic fibers can be found), sucking on plastic binkies, and sucking on plastic feeding bottles or plastic toys.
Some recent studies concluded that microplastics are having a negative effect on the reproductive capabilities of men and women.
A key reason the recycling of plastics is low is that their chemical compositions are different. For example, a plastic water bottle and a food container that are both labeled with a plastic resin ID of 1 actually have different chemical compositions. Once they are mixed together in a pile for recycling, a buyer will probably reject the pile knowing that they have different compositions.
Her recommendation about how to resolve the problem of plastics pollution is to work with state and federal legislators to help them put into law Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Laws. Such laws place the responsibility for the treatment and disposal of materials like plastics on the producers, manufacturers and the retailers!
