An Overview of Microplastics

Mandy Barker, who has received many awards, pointed out that there are many different wastes such as plastic in the seas. She has been making art by collecting plastic from the sea for 14 years in order to raise an awarness by working in the line of scientists which you can see some of the photos down below (MANDY BARKER, n.d.)

(MANDY BARKER, n.d.)

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(MANDY BARKER, n.d.)

Not only Mandy Barker, but also many scientists and environmental activists wanted to point out the fact that plastics pollute every place of our environment. But unfortunately, many scientists discovered that microplastics may band together in our bodies and cause harm. However, we get microplastics into our bodies in ways that seem harmless to us and cause harm unexpectedly. As it seems blameless, PET bottles are one of the most used ways of getting microplastics into our bodies in our daily lives. Even though a huge number of experts are trying to shout out the harms, a lot of people do not know that it exists. As we noticed the lack of awareness in our community, we decided to conduct our studies on the topic of the hazard that appears harmless, PET bottles.  

In the light of our meeting with the Turkish Health Foundation, it is mentioned that in Turkey, there is no statistics or a scientific research on the relevance between health and microplastics. Therefore it is stated that foreign sources are almost the only solution in content production. With the help of the Turkish Health Foundation, we lead ourselves to give information about the unknown and open a door for the people to research and more about the topic and help them to make it a daily routine to look sharp about microplastics. 

(Free, 2023)

Microplastics have bounced to everywhere. According to a recent study, it is estimated that the average adult consumes approximately 2,000 microplastics per year(Microplastics on Human Health: How Much Do They Harm Us?, n.d.). and one of the most common sources of microplastics for us is the PET bottles that are silent dangers. 

Microplastics, which we ingest into our bodies through various means, have been linked to serious health problems such as endocrine disorders, weight gain, insulin resistance, decreased reproductive health and cancer(Microplastics on Human Health: How Much Do They Harm Us?, n.d.). However, more research is needed on the harms caused by microplastics. We know that microplastics trigger various health issues, but unfortunately, these harms cannot be discussed as definitively and clearly as the environmental damages they cause. Within these limitations, microplastics continue to remain a mystery. However, the data at hand has piqued the interest of many experts and is deemed worthy of further investigation. It is an undeniable fact that the data found cannot be disregarded. PET bottles, which cannot be fully blamed as the sole culprit, will no longer be considered innocent. In this context, experts and doctors unanimously agree on the necessity to minimize and even halt the use of PET bottles as much as possible. 

In this regard, WHO—a trustworthy source for professionals and medical professionals has provided everyone with illuminating results on plastics. There is widespread agreement, according to WHO, that plastics have no place in the environment and that exposure should be minimized.

The Ministry of Environment, Spatial Planning and Infrastructure (MESPI) Department recently received assistance from UNDP Kosovo in developing and introducing the Advanced Circular Economy Roadmap. For a wide range of stakeholders in the public and private sectors, it is an excellent resource for guidance on the shift to a sustainable economy and more resilient environment. In addition to supporting institutions with policies and interventions to advance the green agenda, UNDP also works hard to inform the general public about environmental challenges.(Microplastics on Human Health: How Much Do They Harm Us?, n.d.)

(Ziff, 2024)

This year, UNDP, together with key institutions such as MESPI, the Office of the President and development partners, celebrated “Kosovo Earth Days” – a week-long campaign aimed at increasing environmental activism by directly impacting a variety of people and groups concerned with environmental issues such as plastic pollution and sustainable food systems. This year, UNDP co-hosted "Kosovo Earth Days" with important organizations like MESPI, the Office of the President, and development partners. The week-long event aims to raise awareness of environmental issues by influencing a range of individuals and groups that are affected by them, including those who are concerned about sustainable food systems and plastic pollution(Microplastics on Human Health: How Much Do They Harm Us?, n.d.).  

UNDP held an event titled "Building Minds, Building Playgrounds: Teaching Children to Separate and Reuse Plastic" as part of their initiatives. This project involves replacing a broken playground structure with an engaging and entertaining learning process that teaches kids about plastic pollution and motivates them to help create new trash cycles(Microplastics on Human Health: How Much Do They Harm Us?, n.d.).   

To manage plastic trash, cut back on plastic consumption, and make the transition to a more resilient and sustainable ecosystem, it is critical that individuals, businesses, and governments collaborate. To solve the problems brought on by microplastics and safeguard both our world and our health, everyone must contribute to the solution-finding process(Microplastics on Human Health: How Much Do They Harm Us?, n.d.).   

UNDP held an event titled "Building Minds, Building Playgrounds: Teaching Children to Separate and Reuse Plastic" as part of their initiatives. This project involves replacing a broken playground structure with an engaging and entertaining learning process that teaches kids about plastic pollution and motivates them to help create new trash cycles(Microplastics on Human Health: How Much Do They Harm Us?, n.d.).   

To manage plastic trash, cut back on plastic consumption, and make the transition to a more resilient and sustainable ecosystem, it is critical that individuals, businesses, and governments collaborate. To solve the problems brought on by microplastics and safeguard both our world and our health, everyone must contribute to the solution-finding process (Microplastics on Human Health: How Much Do They Harm Us?, n.d.).  

As you can see from the information that is taken from UNDP Kosovo, plastics are a huge place as a source of microplastics and, therefore illnesses in our lives. In order to learn more, you might visit their website. Yet, there are more websites, news, journals and papers that are linked with the harms of the microplastics and PET bottles. As we have understood how a huge part of our lives they are, we might want to dive into more details about how they might effect us. 

Until now, we wanted to show you with our previous writing what are microplastics, where we can find them, how actually big they are compared to their look and what they are causing generally. 

In our next writing, we would love to tell you about the data on the harms of microplastics to our bodies. Until then, we are looking forward to see you again! Thank you for taking your time, we hope that it was helpful.  

Kind regards, TEDU 102 group students 

REFERENCE 

Microplastics on Human Health: How much do they harm us? (n.d.). UNDP. https://www.undp.org/kosovo/blog/microplastics-human-health-how-much-do-they-harm-us 

MANDY BARKER. (n.d.). MANDY BARKER. https://www.mandy-barker.com/ 

Free, I. P. (2023, February 27). Microplastic in Water Bottles – How Dangerous is It? I’m Plastic Free. https://www.implasticfree.com/microplastic-in-water-bottles-how-dangerous-is-it/

Ziff, A. (2024, March 13). The real story on microplastics. Moms Clean Air Force. https://www.momscleanairforce.org/the-real-story-on-microplastics/