Plastic is ubiquitous in our daily lives. It is becoming increasingly difficult to point to objects around us that do not contain at least a small amount of plastic.
Given the range and diversity of uses and applications for plastics, it is not surprising that society embraces these materials wholeheartedly. Plastic is found in car tires, clothing, food wrappers, disposable water bottles, paints, tea bags, and more. Plastic is often convenient in our busy lives, cheap and disposable.
But what happens to the plastic we throw away? Let’s be honest, most plastic ends up in landfills, where it takes decades or centuries to break down. Only 8.6% of plastic was recycled in 2018. A larger proportion (15.7%) of discarded plastic was burned for energy. [1], and the remaining 75.7% was landfilled. Despite producing more plastic each year, plastic recycling trends are declining, with only 5-6% of plastic recycled in 2021. [2]It’s estimated that 22% of plastic “is disposed of in uncontrolled landfills, burned in open pits, or leaked into the environment.” [3]This equates to 83.6 million tonnes of plastic released into the environment each year. That’s over £167 billion. every year. every year. Together, this means that we are continually adding to the pile of plastic waste that is already accumulating, plus plastic and plastic pollution.
When released into the environment, plastics are carried by water and wind, moving from areas of high plastic concentration to more pristine areas. Ultimately, most plastic pollution ends up in the ocean, where it sinks to the sea floor or accumulates on the surface in rotating currents.
During transportation, plastic materials break down into tiny pieces called microplastics. These small plastic particles are lighter than larger plastic fragments, making them easier to transport in the environment and affecting a wider area.
There are shocking images of dissected fish stomachs full of tiny plastic particles, but the impact of microplastics on wildlife is just the beginning of the problem. . Much more effort is required to remove the same amount of plastic from the environment when microplastic particles are removed than when larger plastic debris is removed.
Many cleanup efforts do not have the manpower, time or equipment resources to completely remove microplastics. Additionally, microplastics are chemically altered by exposure to the sun and chemicals in the environment. These changes have been shown to alter how microplastics behave chemically in the environment, increasing their ability to take up and retain toxic chemicals on their surfaces. and toxins can be transported through the environment, and microplastic particles provide pathways for toxic chemicals to move through the environment.
Microplastic particles can carry more toxins than large pieces of plastic because microplastics are small in size and numerous and therefore have a large surface area. All of this leads to the presence of not only long-term pollutants, but also pollutants that are globally transported, difficult and costly to remove, and can carry large amounts of toxic chemicals into the environment. .
Microplastics are truly a global problem. Several recent studies show that microplastics have been found at the summit of Everest, the Mariana Trench, Antarctica, the air we breathe, the food we eat, and our tap water. It has also been found in human blood.
Unfortunately, Truckee Meadows and Lake Tahoe are no exception.Microplastics have been found in Lake Tahoe surface water, rainwater, beach sediments and snow [4]The Lake Tahoe Saver League has removed more than 43,000 pounds of litter from the Lake Tahoe shoreline [5] Clean Up the Lake removed over 25,000 pounds of debris from the bottom of the lake. [6]Keep Truckee Meadows Beautiful removed over 35 tons of trash and green waste at its 2022 Truckee River cleanup event [7].
With growing awareness of plastic pollution in the environment, there are increasing policies to address the problem of plastic waste internationally. [8], both nationally and locally. For example, South Lake Tahoe recently banned single-use plastic water bottles. [9]However, many questions remain about whether microplastics are present in waterways and more research is needed.
What can you do to solve the problem? Here are 5 steps to reduce your plastic use, plus other suggestions. Available from Desert Labs:
- Replace single-use plastic with reusable products or natural materials. Bring your own mug to the coffee shop and swap products in plastic bottles for bars and refillable containers such as bar soaps and bar shampoos.
- Reduce, reuse, recycle. Please follow your local recycling guide to ensure proper recycling. Reuse materials whenever possible.
- Please do not litter. This may seem like a no-brainer, but unfortunately we still see a lot of trash in the environment, including cigarette butts. Cigarette filters are synthetic materials that decompose.
- Carpooling to reduce tire wear. You can also choose tires with higher wear resistance.
- Use a product that catches microfibers in your washing machine or a filter in your washing machine line. We recommend washing synthetic clothing less often and line drying your clothing.
- Support local groups and businesses committed to reducing plastic waste generation and using sustainable practices. reusable reno We maintain a list of Reno businesses dedicated to these goals.
We’ll discuss microplastics in our region in detail at the Fall River Walk event hosted by . Keep your Truckee Meadow beautiful. The 1-mile Riverwalk will take place on Saturday, November 5th from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. at Maybury Park, followed by a voluntary cleanup.surely Reserve a spot at an event today. I’m looking forward to seeing you!
[1] https://www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-and-recycling/plastics-material-specific-data
[2] https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-us-recycled-just-5-percent-of-its-plastic-in-2021-180980052/
[3] https://www.oecd.org/environment/plastics/
[4] https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/0a2ceba61c47470e8e18566268f9bfcf
[5] https://www.keeptahoeblue.org/combat-pollution/
[6] https://cleanupthelake.org/
[7] https://www.ktmb.org/cleanups
[8] https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/what-you-need-know-about-plastic-pollution-resolution
[9] https://www.tahoedailytribune.com/news/south-lake-tahoe-bans-single-use-plastic-water-bottles/
About the author
Sarah M. Dunham-Cheatham Assistant Research Professor in the Department of Agriculture, Biotechnology and Natural Resources at the University of Nevada, Reno.she is the director of Core Analysis Institute, part of the University Experiment station research unit.
Sarrah holds a PhD in Geochemistry from the University of Notre Dame and a BS in Soil Science and Hydrology from Purdue University.
Monica Arienzo Associate Research Professor in the Department of Hydrological Sciences at the Desert Research Institute. She heads the Microplastics and Environmental Chemistry Laboratory.
Monica holds a PhD in Marine Geology and Geophysics from the University of Miami.
