Microplastics; A hidden disaster

A lot of the information in today's episode comes from Waste MINZ fantastic webinar on microplastics delivered by Dr Grant Northcott and Dr Olga Pantos. Check out the webinar here. This episode, we're discussing microplastics - What they are, why they're bad and what can we do about them. Plastic does not biodegrade, it breaks down, fragmented by wind, waves and sunlight into ever-smaller pieces. Microplastic is plastic fragments less than 5 mm in size. They do a number of nasty things, including absorbing pesticides, hydrocarbons and heavy metals. They also leach bad stuff into the environment. On average, we consume a credit card a week in microplastics. Scientists have recently found out that we have massively underestimated the amount of microplastic in the environment, sadly it's found everywhere on earth. Solutions; Use less plastic. Use less everything. Go clear, if you must use plastic. Get involved with collective action by signing your name at YourPlasticDiet.org Thanks to Auckland Council and Live Lightly for supporting this podcast! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.