<aside> 📢 Plastic pollutes every natural system

</aside>

Water / Oceans / Marine

Unmanaged waste streams lead to the ocean

<aside> 🐟 "The ocean is downhill from everywhere."

</aside>

Some extreme examples of plastic pollution in our Photo & Video Gallery

• Ghost fishing gear (aka ALDFG ) - represents 27% of marine litter

The scope of microplastic pollution

• Microplastics found on Mt Everest, in the Mariana Trench, in our most remote deserts
• USGS finds microplastic in raindrops
• Plankton eating polystyrene, entering the food web in the collembolan Cryptopygus antarcticus - source
• and in human organs

Health

The evidence is mounting:

• Polymers from plastic found in human blood (80% of 22 subjects, March 2022) and breast milk (June 2022) and vein tissue (Feb 2023)
• Microplastics recently discovered in the human placenta Plasticenta: First evidence of microplastics in human placenta
• Falling sperm counts, as reported by Dr. Shanna Swan, then discredited by the NY Times, and now reaffirmed by The Guardian…
• Microplastics found in human testis and semen
• Nano-plastics cross the blood-brain barrier [source needed]
• Microplastics causing cell damage, cell death, shown in lab study
• Microplastics in human feces, even that of newborn babies. Polymers in breast milk too.
• Breathing microplastics - preliminary research on the bio-persistence of MP in lungs

Bisphenol A (BPA) in urine samples - 92%?

Phthalates (plasticizers) are endocrine disrupters - Tiny amounts of hormones, measured in parts per billion or even per trillion, affect the function of a wide range of systems throughout our bodies. They’re also linked to pre-term birth.

Styrene, another chemical found in plastic and food packaging, has been linked to nervous system dysfunction, hearing loss, cancer, and more.

More informative links at our Fertility page.

Soil

Microplastic pollution causes significant damage to populations of soil-dwelling mites, larvae and other tiny creatures that maintain the fertility of the land, research has found.

Plastic additives classified as Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) release toxins into soil - Source

"Microplastics are becoming an integral part of the soil food web" - Source, Royal Society Publishing

more soil studies

Air