The recent pellet crisis in Galicia is falling into oblivion. But the media attention it has attracted in recent weeks has served to remind us that there is also a serious problem of plastic pollution on the planet. This is how Ethel Eljarrat, research scientist and current director of the Institute of Environmental Diagnostics and Water Studies (Idaea), dependent on the CSIC, sees it.
Cleaning the sea of ??plastics already seems impossible?
It would be very interesting to be able to remove them from the sea, but then we have to see what we do with them on land. Do we burn them? Because only 10% of plastic is recycled around the world. As long as we talk about the circular economy and recycling and only 10% of the 400 million tons that are manufactured annually are recycled. It is estimated that of the 8,000 million tons of plastic manufactured throughout history, about 6,000 million are waste distributed throughout the world.
Do we live in a plastic world and are we not aware of it?
I think people do, especially when it comes to food packaging. But plastic is in many more things that we are not so aware of. For example, 70% of the clothes we wear are plastic. Car tires also contain plastic. If we look around, everything has plastic.
And why does this idea not take root?
Sometimes it is a bit difficult to understand the concept. When you see smoke coming from a chimney, you understand that it can pollute. But for example, it is difficult for us to assimilate that now, in this office, we are breathing microplastics that cannot be seen.
Do all plastics pollute equally?
No, we differentiate between two types of pollution. But first you need to know what a plastic is. It is a material that is made with a polymer that is usually extracted from petroleum, such as polyethylene, PVC, etc. But then you have to add a lot of chemicals to give it the shape and application we want. Certain compounds are added to make it more malleable or harder, flame retardants, sunscreens, biocides… In short, more than 10,000 different chemical compounds can be added.
And which ones pollute more?
We know what plastic waste is, but many people are unaware that much of this waste is made of toxic chemical compounds. That is why there is a kind of pollution that can be caused by the plastic piece of polymer that you breathe or eat, and then what comes out of these chemical substances that this piece of plastic carries. The most important levels of pollution are found in means of transport, but since we spend little time there compared to what we are in the office or at home, in the general calculation of your daily dose it contributes a small part.
Once plastic has entered the human body…
It’s hard to get out of it. Yes, it is true that there are studies that have shown particles of microplastics in human excrement, that is to say that we do eliminate some of it, but other studies have found plastics in human samples of blood, lungs, placenta, breast milk , which is the most critical because it is then transferred to the fetus.
Why does it cost so much to act?
The power of the oil industry is very strong. But also because it costs a lot to make people aware of the problem of plastic, and this is related to the current consumer society. As a material, plastic is ideal, and the problem is more the overflowing consumption, far above our real needs.
Is recycling useless?
If we think we can produce whatever we want because our economy is circular, we are wrong. First, because the reality is that we do not recycle as much as we should, and second, because it cannot be recycled a thousand times. Every time you recycle it, the plastic loses its properties and you need to add more chemicals. And that makes the situation worse. And another problem is that virgin is now cheaper and of better quality than recycled. And this is where the different legislations should come in. It is not enough to make a law, it is necessary to verify that it is complied with.
What measures are needed?
The crux of the problem is that year after year the global production of virgin plastic continues to grow. And there are simple measures. For example, if we managed to package food without so much plastic, the problem would be reduced. 40% of the world’s plastic that is manufactured is used for packaging, and it is true that packaging includes many things, not only food, but it would be an important measure.
Do we drink plastic, whether in bottled or tap water?
At Idaea we have seen that there are almost the same levels of microplastics in the bottles as in the taps. Because? Because the water from the tap passes through a duct from the water purifier that is made of plastic material and through pipes that are usually made of PVC and becomes contaminated with microplastics and chemical additives. That is why it is difficult to make the problem of plastic pollution obvious, which goes far beyond what we can imagine.
Are we exposed to everything?
Basically because of what we eat and breathe. And then it is a matter of trying to minimize these routes of exposure so that the total sum does not exceed the recommended daily levels. Because you can say, for example, that you eat fish despite the pellets because with that you don’t reach the recommended daily limit, but if you add to the fish the sugary drink, the bottled or tap water, the air you breathe in the car and you add up… yes you can reach the minimum.
Could this be a problem?
These are habits that are deeply instilled in us. The solution is not to say “I don’t eat mussels”, the solution is to decide not to pollute the sea so that the mussel is not contaminated. But it’s difficult, we’re not in that dynamic. The level of microplastics in the seas would be reduced simply if we threw less plastic waste into them. And how is this achieved? Well, making less and consuming less.
