Seeking ways to reduce the consumption of micro and nanoplastics.

bobcat

bobcat

Well-known Member
Location
Northern Calif
The world produces over a million tons of plastic every day, and they take a very long time to go away (If ever).
They are everywhere in the food we eat, the air we breathe, the clothes we wear, the water we drink, in packaging, and in our bodies.

I have come to the conclusion that there is no avoiding them, so we just need to find ways of reducing the exposure. Got any ideas?
 

JustDave said:
Limiting the production is all I can come up with. I'm always at a loss in the checkout lines at the grocery store when they ask, "Paper or plastic?" Its like asking, "Hanging or the the electric chair?"
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Well, I'm OK with paper, because even in the trash, it degrades rapidly.
However, even if I am buying organic vegetables, I am putting them in a plastic produce bag and keeping them in the fridge that way. Who am I kidding?
 

Okay! Like the MAHA thread, lol, this one gets me going, but in a different way! At least this topic makes me laugh, all the way to the store and back. Ready, set, go!

Plastic grocery bags are banned here now; some stores will provide paper but most require you to bring your own "reusable" bags (or purchase the ones for sale that are displayed at the checkout). I used to reuse those plastic grocery bags for different things (hasn't everybody) but now I have to purchase more plastic bags for that. Trash can liners, dog poop picker uppers, etc. Did the plastic grocery bag manufacturers come up with the "ban the free plastic bags" idea to make you buy their other plastic bags?

Almost everything you buy is wrapped in plastic: cheese, rice, pasta, produce (although that is easier to avoid), meat, name it. You walk out of the store with your reusable bags and almost everything in them is wrapped in plastic! And some of my old reusable bags are...plastic!

It's impossible. I have tried to avoid plastic altogether. A few years ago, I went to the grocers determined to not buy anything in plastic. It was just a challenge and a game to see if I could do it (I do that kind of thing pretty often, kind of an experiment of my own making, lol). Well, that lasted about three minutes when I realized it was gonna be a hungry week.

I have done a few things like instead of using plastic containers for storage, I use glass (Pyrex). I like it much better because it doesn't stain, it doesn't melt in the microwave, and I can pour boiling hot food into it and put it in the freezer. Oh! But wait! the lids are plastic...so I don't fill the glass container to the top. Don't let the food touch the lid!!!

For some things, I will use canning jars, which so far seem safe. Meats are repackaged in aluminum foil (will the Alzheimer's get me for that? in which case I will forget about the whole plastic thing so it won't matter?) but I would do that anyway because the prepackaged portions are too large. Can one get that freezer paper these days? Perhaps I will check into that; will they find something deadly in it and it may kill me after I have used it for 50 years? Crap.

Funny that some stores are now offering paper; we went from paper to plastic in order to Save The Trees! What? Are the trees now dispensable? Noooooo! Not the Trees!!! Instead, we switched to plastic to kill ourselves; at least we could be buried or sprinkled under the trees.

And if I repackage everything that comes in plastic, what to do with that plastic? Supposedly, certain specially marked plastic can be recycled only once. Then it goes into the landfill. Some items are marked, "Made from Recycled Materials"; so does that mean that product as been "processed"? Noooo! And I just realized my cigarettes are also packaged in plastic! wth? Are they trying to kill me, too?
 
I don't think we can avoid getting our lethal dose per day. The food we eat, the air we breathe and the water we drink has micro plastics in them. Lots. It is part of why we are developing many new illnesses that involve our basic functioning systems. Our immune system. Our nerve system. our digestive system. etc. Until they are removed somehow, it looks like the treatment of these ailments will increase dramatically.
 
GoodEnuff said:
I use glass (Pyrex).
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My Pyrex dishes have pyrex lids; freezer or microwave safe. Or Corning Ware which comes with lids also.
GoodEnuff said:
I will use canning jars,
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Me too lately. The only problem is the awkward shape for storing in my small freezer. I’ve been trying to think of a reasonable alternative for the large batches of soup or muffins I make.
RadishRose said:
We can bring our own string bags to the store for this purpose.
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Good idea.
 
A major scientific review may have found a possible cause of many of the cancers for which genetics, diet and lifestyle cannot explain.

After reviewing more than 3,000 studies on microplastics, researchers concluded that these tiny toxins are linked to lung and colon cancer, as well as other lung diseases and infertility.

That could be significant because, unlike dozens of cancers that are in decline, colon cancers are rising, especially among young people who are not normally at risk.
Microplastics are pieces of plastic smaller than 5mm in diameter that are released by consumer goods like food containers, clothes toys, packaging, cigarette filters and tires.

They've contaminated the air we breathe, food we eat and water we drink and have been found in virtually every major human organ, where they cause widespread inflammation when the immune system recognizes it as a foreign invader.

This can cause a myriad of medical problems, including tissue damage and inflammation in the liver and heart, and over time, accumulation in the body can lead to irreversible damage.

The California researchers concluded exposure to microplastics is 'suspected' to play a role in colon cancer, ovarian function, sperm quality and respiratory diseases, including lung cancer.
Previous studies have even discovered the substances in people's brains and a woman's placenta and estimate exposure to microplastics costs the US healthcare system $289billion annually.

And with plastic production expected to triple by 2060, the UC researchers said: 'Due to ubiquitous exposure and bioaccumulative characteristics of microplastics, the extent of human health impacts due to microplastic exposure is of great concern.'

The review, published earlier this month in ACS Publications Environmental Science & Technology, analyzed approximately 3,000 animal and human studies that researched an association between microplastic exposure and health outcomes in the respiratory, digestive and reproductive systems.

The studies suggested a strong link between microplastics and changes in the digestive system and colon cancer, as the tiny particles disrupt the protective mucus layer in the colon and potentially promote tumor development.

The researchers wrote: 'We concluded that exposure to microplastics is “suspected” to adversely impact the colon and small intestine in humans.'

They also wrote microplastics are 'suspected' of causing intestinal cell death and chronic inflammation, as well as negatively impacting the intestinal immune system.
Scientists say they've found cause of so many unexplained cancers
 
JustDave said:
Limiting the production is all I can come up with. I'm always at a loss in the checkout lines at the grocery store when they ask, "Paper or plastic?" Its like asking, "Hanging or the the electric chair?"
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Some of the grocery stores around here encourage people to bring their own bags, which is a good solution, and they charge like 10 cents for each plastic bag you use if you don't have your own.
 
bobcat said:
I have come to the conclusion that there is no avoiding them, so we just need to find ways of reducing the exposure. Got any ideas?
Click to expand...

Always buy oils in glass bottles. Since plastics are oil based (made from crude oil and natural gas) there's chemical leeching from plastic bottles into food oils. It's not great to consume these cold in salad dressings, etc but it's even worse to cook with plastic contaminated oils.
 
It seems that everywhere I go, there are plastic water bottles thrown in the trash, or just littering the roadways, etc. I would like to see a substantial....25 cents, or more, deposit levied on these bottles at the time of purchase, and "refund/recycle" bins at the stores for people to return them.
 
It seems everywhere I look, there is plastic.
Ziplock and sandwich bags are plastic.
My remotes, TV, and sound system are plastic.
All the cleaning and laundry products, and toiletries are in plastic.
Even my toothbrush, sunglasses, and most of my power tools are now in plastic.
I don't even want to think about how much plastic is in the interior of my vehicle or in my clothes.

I know we can't avoid it, but it seems there must be ways to reduce the exposure at least.
 
bobcat said:
I know we can't avoid it, but it seems there must be ways to reduce the exposure at least.
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Agreed. In my fridge door alone right now, there are 25 bottles/jars of various sauces, dressings, marinades, etc. Of those, 8 are in glass, the rest are in plastic. Would I now transfer everything to glass? No, because 1) no label, and 2) some have not been opened and once they are opened, the countdown to spoilage begins. I don't even want to look in the pantry.

Little by little, I will purchase products that are in glass. After all, I have been ingesting all this plastic for decades and so far, so good. At least most of it says it's BPA free, whatever that may mean.
 
I can remember when plastic was less common. There was celluloid for cellophane or fountain pens, vulcanite for pipe stems, and Bakelite for radios and utensil handles, but not much else. Mother wrapped my sandwiches in waxed paper and put them in a paper bag. The butcher wrapped meat in butcher paper. Power cords were covered in rubber or rubberized fabric; sometimes asbestos. Toys were metal or wood. Fabrics were cotton, linen, wool or silk.

Cans were lined with tin, now they're coated internally with plastic. Bottles were glass and heavy. Baby bottles were glass with rubber nipples. Milk cartons were wax coated cardboard. Now they are plastic coated. Trash cans were metal and heavy. Tires were real rubber from rubber trees. Paints were oil based; no latex or acrylics. Shoes were leather or cloth and rubber. Sponges came from the ocean. Floors were covered in wood, tile or linoleum; no vinyl. You can probably think of other things.

At this point, I think it would be difficult to go back to much of that.
 
JustDave said:
.... I'm always at a loss in the checkout lines at the grocery store when they ask, "Paper or plastic?" Its like asking, "Hanging or the the electric chair?"
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Dave: I love your sense of humor!!

bobcat said:
The world produces over a million tons of plastic every day.....and they take a very long time to go away (If ever).
I have come to the conclusion that there is no avoiding them, so we just need to find ways of reducing the exposure. Got any ideas?
Click to expand...

AND @bobcat: I love YOUR early morning new threads.
Question: Do you think these up before or after you are vertical for the day?
Imagining you just lay under the warm comfy blankets, thinking up these philosophical gems OR the caffeine in the coffee does the trick? Inquiring minds need to know.
 
I just wish the plastic wasn't SO darned HARD and shrink wrapped to things I buy (to prevent stealing or WHAT?), so much so that it takes my arthritis and me an hour to cut through the packages? I have to use a box cutter and a cutting board these days just to extract 9v batteries from the packaging!
 
I've got an idea, just keep consuming things in plastic containers like we've been doing our whole life. If I were away from the internet and TV,
I wouldn't even know about this and I'd still live to be 83 years old (my projected age expectancy).

Supposedly, I'm also drinking water that contains all the drugs other people consumed including birth control pills. I'll tell you what though...I haven't gotten pregnant once. So there is a benefit to that.
 
RadishRose said:
Don't buy quarts or half gals of milk in plastic jugs, buy cartons.
Don't buy laundry detergent in plastic, buy powder or infused sheets.
Don't buy soda. Or at least buy it in cans .
Use metal razors with blades instead of throwaway plastics.
Drink tap water.
Buy non-perishables packaged in glass or cans
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Avoid tea bags, they are said to release billions of particles into your cup.
 

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