I read the Firebreak's linked Wapo article, but FireBreak doesn't allow comments unless you pay them, so I'll comment here.
Regardless of the biased and unscientific nature of the claims about plastics referred to, microplastics getting into the environment may be a serious problem, since they're showing up all over the place, including the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the water we drink and our blood. I'm not sure how much damage this is doing to our health - I'd like to see more research.
Also, I wondered if some kinds of plastics contribute more microplastics than others, and this is what I found, to my surprise:
"The two biggest sources of micro plastics on land, in the air, and in human bodies are car tyres and synthetic textiles (e.g. polyester clothes). They are both the largest contributors, but for different particle sizes. It also depends on where exactly you are testing. Generally, synthetic textiles (clothing) contribute about 35% while car tyres contribute about 28%, together making up almost two thirds.
In oceans, those two sources represent about one third of micro plastics, with the remaining two thirds largely coming from the degradation of big plastic objects such as water bottles and plastic bags."
It would be prudent to avoid plastics when there are good alternatives. Using glass or steel containers instead of plastic, and cotton or wool fabrics, and paper or reusable cloth bags would be a good start. I never did like plastic water bottles - even before I ever heard of microplastics - I can hardly believe how many cases of those plastic bottles are stocked in our grocery store - who buys those things?
I read the Firebreak's linked Wapo article, but FireBreak doesn't allow comments unless you pay them, so I'll comment here.
Regardless of the biased and unscientific nature of the claims about plastics referred to, microplastics getting into the environment may be a serious problem, since they're showing up all over the place, including the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the water we drink and our blood. I'm not sure how much damage this is doing to our health - I'd like to see more research.
Also, I wondered if some kinds of plastics contribute more microplastics than others, and this is what I found, to my surprise:
"The two biggest sources of micro plastics on land, in the air, and in human bodies are car tyres and synthetic textiles (e.g. polyester clothes). They are both the largest contributors, but for different particle sizes. It also depends on where exactly you are testing. Generally, synthetic textiles (clothing) contribute about 35% while car tyres contribute about 28%, together making up almost two thirds.
In oceans, those two sources represent about one third of micro plastics, with the remaining two thirds largely coming from the degradation of big plastic objects such as water bottles and plastic bags."
It would be prudent to avoid plastics when there are good alternatives. Using glass or steel containers instead of plastic, and cotton or wool fabrics, and paper or reusable cloth bags would be a good start. I never did like plastic water bottles - even before I ever heard of microplastics - I can hardly believe how many cases of those plastic bottles are stocked in our grocery store - who buys those things?