Contact Lenses Add to Microplastic Pollution

Ever wonder what happens to disposable contact lenses when it's time to actually dispose of them?  Worn for as little as a day, their small size contributes to the danger they could eventually wind up polluting a lake, river or go out to sea as microplastic pollution.

After being flushed, the lenses float through the wastewater system to sewage treatment plants. Researchers tested 11 brands of contacts and found that they don't degrade during the treatment process but tear into smaller and smaller pieces.

The fragments are heavier than water, so they settle into the treated sewage sludge, which is often spread on land. The lenses can then make their way into rivers, lakes and the ocean through runoff.
Is sounds like a small problem, but an estimated 45 million people wear contact lenses in the US alone.  An estimated 20% of users flush their lenses resulting in up to 50,000 pounds of lenses getting flushed or rinsed down the drain.

Contact wearers should throw their lenses in the trash or recycle them.

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Drowning in Garbage

The World produces over 3.5 million tons to garbage a day, 10 times the amount from a century ago, but much less than the 11 million tons researchers estimate by the end of this century.  The world also produces over 300 million tons of plastic annually, of which only a small fraction is recycled.  

On average, a person in the United States or Western Europe uses about 220 pounds of plastic per year, according to the Worldwatch Institute, a research organization. The packaging industry, growing thanks to the rise of online stores and other factors, poses a huge challenge.

By 2050, there will be so much plastic floating in the ocean it will outweigh the fish, according to a study issued by the World Economic Forum. Scientists estimate that there are at least 5.25 trillion plastic particles — weighing nearly 270,000 tons — floating in the oceans right now.

Most waste in Africa, the United States and Asia ends up in dumps, many of which are already at capacity. Europe sends less of its waste to dumps or landfills and more to incinerators. While some of them are relatively clean, many are a threat to the environment and public health.

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The Environmental Benefits of Boxed Water

Everyone is pretty familiar with that shocking commercial that shows us how many plastic water bottles Americans use, enough to stretch around the world over 100 times. As guilty as one might feel about it, it has become a dependency – and as a bad habit, it’s not easily broken.

On top of the waste that is obvious (plastic bottles in the trash), there are the problems with those bottles that don’t come instantly to mind. Plastic bottle production uses huge amounts of oil, not to mention the pollution created in transporting them. While it can sometimes to be difficult to imagine the distant future and how damaging all this plastic is for our environment, what is instantly terrifying are the studies that plastic leaks BPA into the water, which is linked to a variety of health problems, such as breast and prostate cancer and low sperm count.

An obvious fix is to have a reusable, swish bottle. But that isn’t always an opportune option. Boxed water.  75% of the container is made from paper that will not leach dangerous chemicals into the very water you are drinking.  The cartons are shipped unfilled to various retailing-points and filled on demand as needed. According to the company this is reducing transportation costs and environmental impact dramatically.

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Is Your Facial Cleanser Contributing to Plastic Pollution?

Micro-plastics are often a result of larger pieces of plastic being broken down over time at least that is the case for much of the plastic debris in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.  Due to the larger ratio of shoreline to open water which creates an abrasive action to break down plastics, small particles were expected, but, the micro-plastics found in the Great Lakes are suspiciously perfectly round beads of plastic. 

We have become a throwaway society.  Plastics are designed to last a long time, more than 500 years in some cases, yet many plastic products are often used one time then tossed.  We’re using and throwing away billions of plastic bottles and bags yearly.  However, personal care products may be adding to the plastic pollution.

The cosmetic industry uses plastic micro-beads in soaps, toothpaste and other products.  This is a relatively new source of plastic pollution and many consumers aren’t aware of the potential consequences the daily use of these products have on the environment.   These beads go directly down the drain and since the products aren’t meant to be ingested the use is completely unregulated.

It is unclear whether micro-beads contained in cosmetics can be filtered out by state of the art water purification processes, but many believe that they can escape sewage filtering systems.  Few water treatment plants are well equipped and this is usually the case in emerging countries such as China, Indonesia and Brazil where cosmetics companies are making a growing part of their revenue.

The environmental dangers of this pollution have yet to be realized.  Scientists have pointed out that due to the size of the micro-plastic, assessing their exact impact on the environment is quite difficult.  Fish and birds eat the small particles floating on the surface.  The chemicals leach into the fat of the fish; lining the intestines and interfering with their ability to absorb nutrients from food. This fish may not immediately die, but they move into the food chain by being eaten by other fish, wildlife and humans.  The photo degradation of plastics in the water can lead to chemicals leaching into the water and working its way into the food chain as well.

Plastic pollution is not only a problem in the water, but along beaches and shorelines as well.  Beaches in Hawaii were found to contain 50% sand and micro-plastics.  Plastic pollution is a human created dilemma and simple changes can make a huge difference to decrease the amount of plastic in the oceans, Great Lakes and other lakes, and streams.   

Micro-beads were found in at least 23 Unilever products.  “The issue of plastics particles in the ocean is an important issue and we have reviewed the use of micro beads in our portfolio (both current products and those in the pipeline),” explained Unilever in a statement.  It will eliminate all micro beads in its personal care products sold in the Netherlands by mid 2013 and will do the same for the rest of the world by 2015.  Will the other personal care product giants like Johnson and Johnson and Proctor and Gamble do the same?

Micro-Beads Escape Sewage Treatment

Great Lakes Plastic Pollution

More Great Lakes Plastic Pollution

Unilever Phases out Micro-Beads

Will the Real Earth Day Please Stand Up?

Earth Day is a global celebration of environmental issues and is largely celebrated annually on April 22.  Gaylord Nelson, a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, is credited with the founding of Earth Day after witnessing the destruction of the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill, which to date is the 3^rd largest oil spill in the United States.

The name and concept for Earth Day was pioneered by John McConnell, a peace activist whose interest in the Earth began at the age of 24 while working in a plastic factory.  After realizing that the manufacture of plastic polluted the Earth, McConnell’s concern for ecology grew.

During World War II he conducted church services aboard Merchant Marine vessels and after the war he was an educational-missionary in Honduras.  He called for the peaceful cooperation in the exploration of Space, urging a joint venture among American Astronauts and Russian Cosmonauts.  He organized a successful “Meals for Millions” program to feed Hong Kong refugees in San Francisco.  McConnell spent his life caring about the Earth, religion, science and Peace.

John McConnell coined the term Earth Day in 1968 and proposed its celebration on the spring equinox, which marks the precise moment when the center of the Sun can be observed directly above the Earth’s equator; also marking the beginning of spring.  The first Earth Day announcement was issued by San Francisco Mayor, Joseph Alioto on March 21, 1970, with celebrations held in various cities.

United Nations Secretary-General U Thant supported McConnell’s visual and said the United Nations would celebrate Earth Day annually on the vernal equinox, establishing March 20^th as the international Earth Day.  This event is still marked by the ringing the Japanese Peace Bell, which was donated by Japan to the United Nations; ringing a peace bell in Vienna, Berlin and elsewhere. 

While the name and concept are similar, the goals of each pioneer were different.  Nelson’s Earth Day is focused on environmental issues; McConnell is certainly concerned with ecology, but his “Earth Day” is about people. Earth Day is a time for people to work together for peace, justice and the care of the Earth.

“What brings people together is their local holidays,” said John McConnell.  “Every country has holidays.  What we needed was a holiday for the whole planet.”

John McConnell passed away on October 20, 2013 at the age of 97.

Learn more about John McConnell

Nova Scotia flag with the unofficial Earth Day Flag created by John McConnell