single-use plastic for a day, or a week, or even the
whole month. Not as easy as it sounds. Look at all
the packaging that comes with a product: food on
plastic trays covered in clingfilm; bags of ready-
packed fruit and vegetables; toiletries in plastic
bottles; ready meals for the microwave.
And then there is the hidden plastic. Did you
realise that if you had a cup of tea this morning
it probably used a teabag that contains plastic?
Or perhaps you used a face scrub? Microbeads,
(tiny particles of plastic) have been added to
some cosmetic products, like face scrubs and
toothpastes. The microbeads flow down the sink
pipes into the sewers, the water treatment plants
can’t filter out products that small, therefore
the microbeads continue on their way to the
ocean where sea life, such as plankton and other
small organisms eat them. The microbeads then
work their way up the food chain to the point
where we then eat them. Although the specific
problem of microbeads is recognised, and bans
are gradually being introduced around the world,
another source of microplastic comes in the form
of microfibres.
Embed video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqkekY5t7KY
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