What on earth are we doing?

The European hedgehog is one of the species found to be contaminated with plastic in a new study

While researchers continue to deepen our understanding of plastic contamination throughout the environment, much of the focus centers on marine organisms and of course humans themselves. Scientists in the UK have turned their eye to small land mammals and found traces of plastic in more than half the species sampled, with a seemingly equal distribution across locations and even dietary habits.

“Much is known about the impact of plastic on aquatic ecosystems, but very little is known about the same with terrestrial systems,” said study author Fiona Mathews, Professor of Environmental Biology at the University of Sussex. “By analyzing the droppings of some of our most widespread small mammals, we’ve been able to provide a glimpse of the potential impact plastic is having on our wildlife – and the most commonly found plastics leaking into our environment.”

The scientists explored the question of whether small mammals in the UK are ingesting microplastics by collecting 261 fecal samples from seven different species, and examining them with a form of infrared microscopy. This revealed plastic polymers in 16.5 percent of the samples and in four out the the seven species, with the European hedgehog, wood mouse, field vole and brown rat all found to be “plastic positive.”

The scientists were expecting to see higher concentrations of plastics in samples collected from urban locations and lower concentrations among herbivores. To their surprise, they found ingestion to occur indiscriminately in all locations and in animals with different dietary habits, including herbivores, insectivores and omnivores.

“It’s very worrying that the traces of plastic were so widely distributed across locations and species of different dietary habits,” said Emily Thrift, study author from the University of Sussex. “This suggests that plastics could be seeping into all areas of our environment in different ways. We’re also concerned that the European hedgehog and field vole are both species suffering declines in numbers in the UK.”

Interestingly, the scientists also found that more than a quarter of the plastics were bioplastics, which are designed to degrade more easily than traditional forms. The team believes the plastics made their way into the animals through direct ingestion, where they are mistaken for food or nesting materials, or inadvertently, through the consumption of contaminated prey.

“In the UK, plastic pollution can often seem like a problem somewhere else when most images are of polluted shorelines of tropical landscapes, or charismatic organisms like turtles or sea lions,” said study author Adam Porter. “This study brings the focus home, into our lands and in some of our much beloved mammal species. Further it demonstrates that the amount of plastic waste we produce is having an impact. We must change our relationship with plastic all together; moving away from disposable items and moving towards replacing plastic for better alternatives and establishing truly circular economies.”

The research was published in the journal Science of the Total Environment.

https://newatlas.com/environment/study-plastics-half-small-mammals/

Got me thinking about microplastics and the effect on cell membranes.
The possibility could exist we poison life (more than it already is) if microplastic levels get too high

https://www.technologynetworks.com/applied-sciences/news/microplastics-can-deform-cell-membranes-and-impact-function-351724

> What on earth are we doing?

I’m recycling.

What are you doing?

mollwollfumble said:

> What on earth are we doing?

I’m recycling.

What are you doing?

That is very nice, but where does your recycled plastic end up?

PermeateFree said:

mollwollfumble said:

> What on earth are we doing?

I’m recycling.

What are you doing?

That is very nice, but where does your recycled plastic end up?

Ideally, once a mined product reaches the anthroposhere it stays there forever.

I really really wish the media reports of these studies would tell us “which” plastic.
There is as much difference between different plastics as there is between pottery and lead.

mollwollfumble said:

PermeateFree said:

mollwollfumble said:

> What on earth are we doing?

I’m recycling.

What are you doing?

That is very nice, but where does your recycled plastic end up?

Ideally, once a mined product reaches the anthroposhere it stays there forever.

I really really wish the media reports of these studies would tell us “which” plastic.
There is as much difference between different plastics as there is between pottery and lead.

Unfortunately microplastics do not stay in the anthroposhere for ever, they spread everywhere to affect the health of most living organisms on this planet and are very likely to become a major problem that cannot be corrected.

Yes there are a number of plastic types, perhaps they mean ALL are potentially hazardous, which seems reasonable.

Assuming its possible but I think not, could we dispose of all our waste into the Earth’s core.
What would actually happen, I imagine it would melt and be crushed by pressure

PermeateFree said:

where does your recycled plastic end up?

honestly we thought they just got picked up by different coloured trucks, then crushed all together anyway and taken to the same landfill because it was no longer economically viable to actually recycle things

Cymek said:

Assuming its possible but I think not, could we dispose of all our waste into the Earth’s core.
What would actually happen, I imagine it would melt and be crushed by pressure

We could, and it could probably work but there are probably much better options. And besides, that disposal method is a “first world” option and doesn’t help the planet much when the majority of the waste comes from China/India/Asia where there is limited or no systems of garbage collection.

SCIENCE said:

PermeateFree said:

where does your recycled plastic end up?

honestly we thought they just got picked up by different coloured trucks, then crushed all together anyway and taken to the same landfill because it was no longer economically viable to actually recycle things

Plastics degrade into ever smaller pieces and cannot be gathered together because microplastic are already found in every part of the globe including Mt Everest and the deepest ocean trench, with more being added daily.

Microplastics found in the meat, milk and blood of farm animals

A new study has detected microplastics in the milk, blood and meat of farm animals

Scientists in the Netherlands studying the spread of plastic waste have turned their eye to meat and dairy products, and discovered high rates of contamination in farm animals. The findings shed new light on the way microplastics move through the food chain, and add extra impetus to better understand the ubiquitous material’s potential effects on living organisms.

The research was carried out by scientists at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam who in March made another important discovery in this space. By using a novel form of mass spectrometry, the scientists produced the first evidence of plastic particles beings absorbed into the human bloodstream.

In a new pilot study, the scientists have applied the same methodology to samples relating to farming practices. These include feeding pellets, shredded feed, blood from cows and pigs, cow milk and meat products.

The analysis revealed that 80 percent of these samples contained detectable amounts of at least one type of plastic. One hundred percent of the pellets and shredded feed contained plastic, as did the cow and pig blood samples, while 72 percent of the milk samples contained detectable amounts of plastics, along with 75 percent of the meat samples.

The scientists consider this pilot study to be a “starting point, not a concluding point.” Like many other studies in this area, the findings do raise questions around how widespread the problem of plastic pollution may be, and the potential impacts on human health. Much more work is needed, but studies have demonstrated that plastic particles can have toxic effects on cells and alter their shape. Mouse studies have also suggested plastic particles can infiltrate the blood brain barrier and increase the risk of high cholesterol and blood disease.

“Animals are exposed to plastic particles in their habitat and they are able to absorb at least some of those particles.,” said co-author of the study Heather Leslie. “This study should be an incentive to further explore the full extent of exposure and any associated risks. Producing plastic-free feed for animals can be a way to improve the exposure to plastic particles for livestock.”

https://newatlas.com/environment/microplastics-meat-milk-blood-farm-animals/

Somewhat lucky life is resilient and all these foreign non naturally occurring substances are more deadly

So are the plastics harmful, beneficial or neutral?

dv said:

So are the plastics harmful, beneficial or neutral?

Still being researched as discovery of ingestion is relatively recent, but it is difficult to think that it would be beneficial or benign, plus we shall be ingesting much more for many generations to come. IMO I think this will turn out to be another massive environmental blunder that we have through our own fault blundered into.

PermeateFree said:

dv said:

So are the plastics harmful, beneficial or neutral?

Still being researched as discovery of ingestion is relatively recent, but it is difficult to think that it would be beneficial or benign, plus we shall be ingesting much more for many generations to come. IMO I think this will turn out to be another massive environmental blunder that we have through our own fault blundered into.

I’ve written a little something about plastics and their risks.

mollwollfumble said:

PermeateFree said:

dv said:

So are the plastics harmful, beneficial or neutral?

Still being researched as discovery of ingestion is relatively recent, but it is difficult to think that it would be beneficial or benign, plus we shall be ingesting much more for many generations to come. IMO I think this will turn out to be another massive environmental blunder that we have through our own fault blundered into.

I’ve written a little something about plastics and their risks.

Think you ought to check out Quartz and Silicosis, and probably others too.