Environmental issue of microplastics

What is microplastic and where does it come from? What makes microplastics so dangerous?

What is microplastic anyway? A controversial environmental issue: Microplastics are plastic parts that are smaller than five millimeters and are barely visible to the human eye. Due to the ever-increasing plastic pollution, the amount of microplastics in the environment is also increasing. The problems this causes are very difficult to recognize and are still relatively unexplored.

Microplastics can be divided into primary (type A and type B) and secondary microplastics based on their origin. While type A is part of a product, e.g. friction particles in cosmetics, type B arises from the use of products, e.g. abrasion from tires or synthetic fibers that are released when textiles are washed.

Secondary microplastics are created by the fragmentation of larger pieces of plastic through weathering (changes in temperature, UV radiation, microorganisms, oxidation or mechanical stress). Sources of plastic pollution are not only direct littering, but also landfills or agricultural applications such as the spreading of sewage sludge, which contains high levels of microplastic particles.

Everyone has heard of microplastics. But what exactly is microplastic?

Microplastics are plastic parts that are smaller than five millimeters. These are created by the breakdown of larger plastic objects or are specifically manufactured in this size for use in industry (e.g. toothpaste).

Microplastics are conquering our planet and damaging the environment, humans and animals. It enters our body through the food chain.

The problem is that microplastic particles accumulate pollutants that we then ingest.

A fact that many don't know.

The infill used in artificial turf is rubber granules, which consist of small plastic particles.

Due to the weather, wind, rain, etc., these rubber granules are removed from the artificial turf and end up in the environment as microplastics.

A study by ICF and Eunomia for the European Commission assumes that 18.000 to 72.000 tons of microplastic emissions are caused by artificial turf every year. With more than 50.000 artificial turfs laid in the EU, this amounts to an annual loss of between 350 and 1.400 kg per artificial turf.

Microplastics from tire wear

It is estimated that there are already more microplastics than plankton in the world's oceans.

But considerable amounts of microplastics have also been found in the desert, in the Arctic, on Mount Everest, in our arable land and in the air. Plastic particles have also been found in our foods such as fish, seafood, salt and honey.

But where do the plastic particles come from? The abrasion of car tires is one of the largest sources of microplastics in nature. In Austria, 6.766 tons of tire wear are emitted every year. But microplastics also end up in the environment through the abrasion of asphalt. Microplastic fibers from clothing are an equally large emitter.

Microplastics through textiles

Microplastics are not only found in the sea. Because microfibers in textiles cause many of these small particles to get into the air.

The Alfred Wegener Institute has even found pieces of microplastic in the snow in the Swiss Alps and the Arctic.

Microplastics on agricultural land

In sewage treatment plants, 90% of the microplastic fibers from textiles and particles from cosmetics and hygiene products are converted into sewage sludge.

In Europe, a third of sewage sludge is used as fertilizer on agricultural land and 40% is dumped in landfills. While the former represents a direct source of contamination, microplastics from sewage sludge in landfills slowly enter the environment due to environmental influences.

The direct release of microplastics onto soil is the main reason for the 4- to 23-fold higher accumulation of microplastics in terrestrial compared to aquatic systems.

Microplastics in the Atlantic

According to a new study, there are millions of tons of microplastics in the Atlantic Ocean.

There are an estimated twelve to 200 million tons of waste in the upper water layers of the first 21 meters alone.

Microplastic concentration in mussels

Mussels filter the water and also absorb tiny plastic particles. Therefore, mussels contain a particularly large amount of microplastics and other pollutants.

Ingestion of microplastic particles

Animals and plants absorb microplastic particles directly. It is assumed that particularly small microplastics, so-called nanoplastics, can pass through the cell membrane (regardless of plant or animal) and can therefore have health effects on the organism.

Since microplastics also enter the food chain, this also applies to us humans.

Microplastic intake in humans

Because of its surface properties, microplastics are like a magnet for environmental toxins. Concentrations of environmental toxins that are hundreds of times higher can be measured on the plastic surface than in the surrounding seawater. The microplastic particles are then absorbed with the pollutants by marine organisms. Microplastics have already been detected in seals, fish, mussels and smaller organisms that are ingested with food.

These pollutants can be released again in the gastrointestinal tract and have an impact on the organism. The pollutants in plastic affect our hormonal system and thus also our physical and mental development. That's why they are particularly dangerous for children.

According to a study by the WWF, every person consumes an average of five grams of plastic per week, which corresponds to the weight of a credit card.