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The impact of plastic on our health in the foreseeable future

Seabird is eating plastic litter in ocean. Source: National Geographic

Our world is rapidly developing, and the topic of waste management remains a prominent concern for our future. Countries who are aware of the damage plastic can do to the environment are making a conscious effort as a whole to reduce their usage. However, there are still many countries that lack the knowledge of the detrimental impact plastic is causing, and this is unfortunately putting a brake on much of the hard work that is currently in place to tackle environmental issues such as climate change. 

One major concern that people are either choosing to ignore, or lacking education about is the affect plastic is having on human health. There are many ways in which plastic can pose a threat to our health, one major concern is ocean pollution. Ocean pollution can cause plastic to enter marine animals, which not only means they die of starvation, but it also means that humans are ingesting micro plastics. 

Whilst scientists and researchers are still looking for the direct correlation of plastic and health issues, there is much research out there, which can aid our understanding and allow us to further analyse potential health risks in relation to plastic. We cannot ignore it, because ultimately, in the foreseeable future, we will no longer be able to shift our ways of thinking in order to care for the environment. Microplastics are plastics that are broken down into tiny pieces over time, due to environmental factors such as wind and heat. Plastic remains in our environment for many years, it is not natural and therefore mother nature has no way of disposing of it. This tiny plastic is a massive threat to our oceans and our marine life. 

Walking along the beach, you may either find minimal plastic or excessive plastic and whilst there are many organisations in place to care for our beaches and eliminate plastic, this is not enough. The plastic that is most harmful to our environment, is the invisible one. Marine animals are ingesting plastic that is almost invisible to them, their stomachs become full overtime with plastic, and their starvation leads them to their inevitable demise. Keeping in mind that marine animals are not the only animals affected by our over usage of plastic. 

When plastic enters aquatic life, it is entering the food chain.  Whilst there is currently research being done to discover whether plastic toxins are seeping into blood or muscle, and directly causing humans to ingest toxins, we must also consider the times when we have consumed marine animals containing microplastic. Whilst microplastic is too big to permeate our cells, nano plastics are not and the longer plastic sits in our environment, the more it breaks down. We are finding ourselves surrounded by more plastic every single day, and we are struggling to manage excessive plastic. With too much plastic in our environment, we struggle to control where it ends up, and more time is given for plastic to break down. 

Overall, plastic as a whole can not only kill our beloved aquatic life, but also release toxins into our bodies which are doing us harm. We are yet to discover just how serious the issue of plastic and human health is; however, urgent education and community engagement is needed to tackle the issue and avoid the concern from growing in future. Our world is desperate for innovative change, and the longer we ignore the need for effective ways to care for our environment, the more damage we are doing. We must start to think about plastic with fear, fear for our health, if we want. 

Writer: Karina Rice (student internship of PlastikDetox)
Editor: Luh De Dwi Jayanthi (coordinator of PlastikDetox)