Microplastics are an environmental issue of increasing concern. They’re in the water we drink, food we eat, air we breathe and virtually every body of water on earth. Microplastics are defined as pieces of plastic smaller than 5 mm in size. You’ve probably seen images of environmental impacts of plastics, such as seabirds with their stomachs filled with bottle caps and fragments of plastic that look like the small prey they typically eat.
But what are the effects on humans and animals from plastics of the scale where microplastics fall – or even smaller, on the nano-scale?
The truth is that we don’t for sure. While research is advancing, and emerging studies are showing the potential for plastics (and the toxins they adsorb) to interfere with physical and cellular processes, we are just beginning to understand these effects. In fact, microplastic research is such a new topic that scientists are still working on ways to effectively sample and identify them!
Our multi-institutional research team, consisting of engineers, field researchers and outreach specialists, is currently working on a way to improve our abilities to monitor microplastics in a variety of water sources. Through funding from NOAA Sea Grant, our team is designing a portable, near real-time sensor that uses a machine-learning based camera and advanced spectroscopy to characterize plastics and identify the specific polymer of which they are composed.
As the team engineers this sensor, my role at the Community Oriented Nature-based Science for Ecosystem Restoration and Versatile Engineering (CONSERVE) Research Group of The University of Alabama Water Institute, is to collaborate with potential end users to better understand their research, monitoring and educational needs, allowing us to incorporate their feedback into the instrument’s design. In January, we hosted a workshop with approximately 50 participants sharing their insights and microplastic-related aspirations. The team is also developing a short curriculum focused on microplastics, with an interactive application that simulates transport of plastics using real-time ocean currents.
Microplastics can either be categorized as primary or secondary microplastics. Primary microplastics are pieces that were manufactured to be small, such as the plastic beads which used to be in face washes (thankfully those have mostly been banned!) and nurdles, which are the pre-production pellets of plastics that get melted into everyday items.
Secondary microplastics, consisting of fragments, fibers, foams and films, are plastics that have broken away from larger pieces of material. These make up the bulk of our microplastic problem, mainly because plastics rarely truly biodegrade. Instead, ultraviolet radiation from the sun degrades them, which results in continuously breaking into smaller and smaller pieces.
So, what are some changes you can make in your life to help the problem?
- Reduce your reliance on single-use plastics such as bottles, bags, utensils and straws. Instead invest in reusable items that can be used for decades! These include stainless steel water bottles, utensils and straws, as well as fabric grocery bags.
- Avoid foods with excess plastic packaging. Buy in bulk or seek sustainable options with paper or glass packaging. Beware of “greenwashing,” where a product states it uses less plastic, but the wording is carefully selected to create the illusion of a greater reduction of its plastic content than it really has.
- Consider adding a filter to your washing machine. Most of our clothes are made of plastic, and every load of laundry flushes thousands of fibers down the drain. Here’s an article about microfibers in laundry.
- Don’t participate in activities such as balloon releases. Educate planners of such events on environmentally friendly alternatives, such as planting native wildflowers/trees or blowing non-toxic bubbles
This project is a collaboration between the CONSERVE Research Group at The University of Alabama Water Institute, Indiana University, Mississippi State University, Coastal Carolina University, University of Connecticut, Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium and South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium. To learn more about the project team and funding, visit the project webpage. You can also follow the CONSERVE Research Group on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube or LinkedIn.
Feel free to email me with any questions.
Meet the author
Anthony Vedral
CONSERVE Sea Grant Research Coordinator
Anthony Vedral is the Sea Grant research coordinator with the Community Oriented Nature-based Science for the Ecosystem Restoration and Versatile Engineering (CONSERVE) Research Group at the... Read more
Phone: 205-348-3651
Email: [email protected]