Heading to the beach is a great way to connect with the environment. However, the beach may be home to countless microplastics that could be harmful to both wildlife and people.
TikToker Brennan (@brennan.kai) posted a short video using a sandcastle sifter to find out if she could see how many microplastics were on the beach.
@brennan.kai let's talk #microplastics ♾ #microplastic #plastic #zerowaste #lowwaste #plasticfree ♬ Island In The Sun - Weezer
"Let's sift some beach sand and see if we come across any microplastics," the voiceover says. "Immediately found two pieces in about five inches of beach. Imagine how much I could find in a day."
OP picked up a white piece of plastic from the sifter, which was just smaller than the tip of her pinky finger.
"Pushing companies and governments to move away from these materials is essential," she says.
Microplastics are any plastics less than five millimeters in length, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. They come off of plastic items, such as household cleaning bottles, as they degrade, a process that can take anywhere from 20 to 500 years.
Microplastics pose a risk to organisms, including fish and birds. A recent study from New Zealand found that the rate of microplastics found in fish is significantly higher in creatures found closer to large city centers.
While these pieces that OP found may have been too large to be characterized as microplastics, they will eventually degrade into microplastics.
Unfortunately, there is still relatively little research on the topic of microplastics that allows researchers to quantify how much of the material there is in the world and what exactly the effects of them are.
According to Science Magazine, over 13 million tons of plastics enter the ocean each year, with estimates showing 358 trillion microplastic particles are floating just on top of the ocean's surfaces. However, many microplastics may avoid detection.
Another study from Germany estimates that a third of all plastic waste ends up in soil or freshwater, posing significant risks to the food chain. For humans, we may digest up to five grams of microplastics each week, which may cause liver infection, intestinal injury, respiratory issues, pregnancy complications, and dementia.
While more research is done about the effects of microplastics, we can help decrease the amount of microplastics that enter soil, sand, and oceans by limiting our plastic use. We can avoid using plastic bags at grocery stores — opting for reusable tote bags — and buy reusable water bottles, travel coffee mugs, eco-friendly laundry detergent, and reusable lunch bags.
"That's horrific!" one user commented on the video. "I live on a small south pacific island, will try this…"
"This is such a horrible problem," commented one user. "WE CAN DO BETTER!!!"
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