Op ECO: Toy Metamorphosis

+ Knowing and understanding the threatening realities of plastic in our outer world as well as our inner world is something that the scientific community is just discovering. It is well known that plastic is one of the top offenders to not just the marine community but to the land community as well. These are the things that are obvious to all of us. The empty single-use items are tossed just as quickly as they were created. Did you know that the expiration refers to the plastic bottle, not the water inside. Well, it is. 

Let’s dive into the inner world that I mentioned. In a recent study published by Science Direct researchers found not only micro-plastic in human lungs but also in the blood (iv). We are turning into the plastic toys that we played with as children. In fact, “scientists have detected micro-plastics near the peak of Mount Everest, in the Mariana Trench, and even in baby poop.(iii)” Startled yet?

The convenience that we all thought so highly of is turning into an inconvenient danger. Most do not address an issue unless it affects them personally. I can understand that. But maybe the stiff feeling in our joints when we wake in the morning is more than wear and tear on our tissues, but the residue of plastic hardening our mobility.

How to cut down on plastic in our everyday lives. 

1. Reduce your use of Single-Use Plastics
2. Support Legislation to Curb Plastic Production and Waste
3. Recycle Properly
4. Participate In (or Organize) a Beach or River Cleanup
5. Avoid Products Containing Micro-beads
6. Spread the Word
7. Support Organizations Addressing Plastic Pollution (ii)

There are many organizations that can be found locally and globally. Many inventive people have even created systems to collect pollution from beaches to marinas to the deep sea. As always, with ingenuity comes at global expense and personal cost. The question is, what are you willing to pay?