Drowning in Plastic

To the Editor:

I assume that most Swarthmorean readers are familiar with the problems caused by plastic pollution: the great Pacific garbage patch that is twice the size of Texas and growing; eight million tons of plastic being dumped into the ocean each year; Kamila Beach on the Big Island in Hawaii being abandoned by swimmers as volunteers pick up 15,000 pieces of trash on a weekend, 90% of it plastic.

But I suspect few are aware that we ingest between 10,000 and 50,000 pieces of microplastic annually, some from the fish that we eat and some that we inhale, primarily from sources not yet fully identified. And that it accumulates in our bodies, with its bisphenols and other nasty chemicals.

Why am I sharing this depressing, scary stuff? It’s not a major climate change producer, like the airplanes that Greta Thunberg doesn’t want us to take. However, it represents a commitment, a consciousness. It’s taking responsibility for being part of the solution rather than part of the problem. For me, the latest is giving up the $.99 liter of seltzer that I felt virtuous about because I wasn’t buying six-packs of bottled water. I buy only what comes in glass now.

Plastic comes from oil. How much? Huge! Though there is biodegradable plastic made from cellulose and starch, this constitutes .2% of all plastic produced — which is 327,000 tons a year versus 150 million tons from oil. We can help reduce this in small but worthwhile ways. It’s a consciousness that is spreading and we can help with such small things as bringing our canvas bag when we shop.

Your participation is important!

Rob Dreyfus, M.D.
Swarthmore