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Microplastics are finding their way into fruit and vegetables as they grow

bbc.com

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Re: Microplastics are finding their way into fruit and vegetables as they grow

#121

Post by mcv »

It feels to me like this ship has sailed even before we were even aware of it. All of a sudden, all the news is that plastic is in everything now, including our blood, placentas, fruit, etc.

And we've never cared much about plastic in our water; everybody knows that water that's spent some time in a plastic bottle tastes different from water from a glass container, but we never had any problem drinking water from plastic bottles.

Is this issue really worth worrying about? And if it is, is there any chance it can be turned back? Because it seems like plastic is in everything already. Though we should probably stop producing more plastic for temporary packaging; that only exists to get thrown away.

Re: Microplastics are finding their way into fruit and vegetables as they grow

#122

Post by bamboozled »

dashundchen wrote: post #46
tomp wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There’s nothing wrong with one-time-use plastics, in countries with good waste management systems. Paper straws suck.

Honestly go look outside. Go alongside a well trafficed road in the city or the country and take a close look at the soil. The curb or tree lawn is filled with visible bits of degraded plastic, and that's not even seeing abraded tire dust that will just look like soot or dirt. Go to pretty much any beach and sift through the sand. Again you will find an abnormal number of plastic mixed in. Even in "clean" places with…

Not where I live?

Re: Microplastics are finding their way into fruit and vegetables as they grow

#123

Post by bamboozled »

csmeder wrote: post #4

Something I don’t understand: Patagonia's stated mission is to save the earth and microplastics entering the oceans is a major environmental concern. However, it is also true that many of Patagonia's clothes are made from synthetic materials such as plastic. The use of synthetic materials in clothing (and each washing) greatly contribute to the problem of microplastics in the oceans. I’m I missing something? Is the a…

I don't think Patagonia is lying, why do you think this ?

They make very high quality clothing which lasts a long time, mostly out of recycled polyester, which is of course better than making more sources of microplastics ?

On the other hand, I purchased a "synchilla" top, it was absolutely ridiculous how much polyester fiber it shed, like absolutely crazy, I was vacuuming my house constantly. In the end it did stop, but it was ridiculously bad. I should've sent it back.

Re: Microplastics are finding their way into fruit and vegetables as they grow

#124

Post by bamboozled »

im3w1l wrote: post #118
davejohnclark wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was stunned to read that, in the UK, after carefully separating out the microplastics with the solid waste, that waste is then... spread on farmland as fertiliser, microplastics and all. >In the UK, of the sewage sludge screened out by treatment works, 87% is sent to farms. The microplastics so carefully removed from wastewater by the treatment process are then spread across the land in the sewage sludge the water…

I wonder if you could treat the sludge to get rid of it? Break the plastics down with heat (dry, burn, rehydrate?) or some enzyme?

Burn it in a high heat furnace and capture the emissions?

Re: Microplastics are finding their way into fruit and vegetables as they grow

#125

Post by bamboozled »

nonethewiser wrote: post #26
csmeder wrote: post #4

Something I don’t understand: Patagonia's stated mission is to save the earth and microplastics entering the oceans is a major environmental concern. However, it is also true that many of Patagonia's clothes are made from synthetic materials such as plastic. The use of synthetic materials in clothing (and each washing) greatly contribute to the problem of microplastics in the oceans. I’m I missing something? Is the a…

What's more sustainable than using fur from an animal that needs to be sheared of it for it's own health? Patagonia uses synthetics because they're cheap.

Patagonia also makes clothing from recyled furs such as wool, what's your point? This is of course way better for the environment than virgin wool because...you know why..

Re: Microplastics are finding their way into fruit and vegetables as they grow

#126

Post by guilhas »

garbanz0 wrote: post #32

Microplastics are so pervasive that they're even found in human breastmilk now. Maybe it's fatalistic, but what is the point of worrying about this on an individual level beyond limiting use of certain plastic products? And it's not just microplastics - we're seeing other news about "forever chemicals," hormones in our food, the global drop of average male sperm production by 50% (!!!), etc. At a certain point, apath…

Funny those micro plastics were only found in the human body after 2021, after a lot of people were injected with mRNA vaccines containing polymers

Re: Microplastics are finding their way into fruit and vegetables as they grow

#127

Post by Noumenon72 »

dashundchen wrote: post #46
tomp wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There’s nothing wrong with one-time-use plastics, in countries with good waste management systems. Paper straws suck.

Honestly go look outside. Go alongside a well trafficed road in the city or the country and take a close look at the soil. The curb or tree lawn is filled with visible bits of degraded plastic, and that's not even seeing abraded tire dust that will just look like soot or dirt. Go to pretty much any beach and sift through the sand. Again you will find an abnormal number of plastic mixed in. Even in "clean" places with…

I worked in a plastic factory for ten years so I feel like I would recognize this if I had ever seen it. I haven't. I will take a look though.

Re: Microplastics are finding their way into fruit and vegetables as they grow

#128

Post by Maursault »

Der_Einzige wrote: post #61
fleddr wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do think there's a limit to how much doom and gloom an individual can productively handle and I suppose this also applies to society as a whole. People seem to accept that it's all downhill from here, and sometimes even cynically applaud it. Like with the male sperm story. It's catastrophic and accelerating, yet got near-zero attention. The few responses to it seem to celebrate it. Humanity lacks a story for the fu…

The real story is the massive increase in LGBT identification across the youth. I strongly believe that a large component of this is biological due to hormonal changes.

There's archeological evidence of transgenders going back almost 3000 years before any hormone was ever isolated. Some Native American tribes had room for as many as 7 genders. There are definitely not more LGBT today than before. Animals probably invented it a few hundred millions of years ago. The good news for you is narcissism can be mitigated. Get help.

Re: Microplastics are finding their way into fruit and vegetables as they grow

#129

Post by SAI_Peregrinus »

Eisenstein wrote: post #35

Plastics are inert. This is why they don't biodegrade easily. It is the additives in the plastics (to make them softer, or color them, or whatever) that are terrible for you. By the time these things are 'microplastics' I am having a hard time feeling scared that they are harmful. I'm not saying they aren't, but until someone can tie them to an actual problem, I don't see an issue -- especially since there is nothing…

Asbestos is also chemically quite inert. But in small fibers, it can physically interfere with cellular processes. I'm not aware of evidence that microplastics behave in the same way, but a number of other small nonreactive particles do have biological effects, so "chemically inert" doesn't seem like a good heuristic for "harmless".

Re: Microplastics are finding their way into fruit and vegetables as they grow

#130

Post by Eisenstein »

SAI_Peregrinus wrote: post #129
Eisenstein wrote: post #35

Plastics are inert. This is why they don't biodegrade easily. It is the additives in the plastics (to make them softer, or color them, or whatever) that are terrible for you. By the time these things are 'microplastics' I am having a hard time feeling scared that they are harmful. I'm not saying they aren't, but until someone can tie them to an actual problem, I don't see an issue -- especially since there is nothing…

Asbestos is also chemically quite inert. But in small fibers, it can physically interfere with cellular processes. I'm not aware of evidence that microplastics behave in the same way, but a number of other small nonreactive particles do have biological effects, so "chemically inert" doesn't seem like a good heuristic for "harmless".

I don't think that is a helpful comparison. Of course being 'inert' is not a good heuristic for harmless -- a bullet made out of teflon fired into you will harm you quite severely despite teflon's inertness. My implication was that without further evidence there is no reason to assume harm by default, because inert things are non-reactive and there is no known mechanism for microplastics having a mechanically harmful effect on mammals.
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