The Thin End

We are more aware than ever before that microplastics (plastic particles under 5 mm) are an abundant type of debris found in salt and freshwater environments.  They can be readily ingested along with food and enter the 'food' chain.   It is not yet clear what harm if any the ingestion of microplastics has in the food chain, although some studies have found depressed growth and lethargy. In a Limnology & Oceanography Letters study, researchers demonstrated the transfer of microplastics through the food chain between microscopic prey and larval fish that live in coastal ecosystems. They also found that microplastic ingestion interferes with healthy growth in fish larvae. The investigators also looked at the effects of a common pollutant (the pesticide DDT) that attaches to microparticles in coastal waters. Organisms were not able to detect or discriminate against ingesting microparticles with high levels of DDT. "Even short exposure to high levels of micropl...

Are we really getting to grips with plastic? Coke, Nestlé, and PepsiCo have topped the list of world’s worst plastic polluters for the second year running, a global survey by Break Free From Plastic has found. As part of World Cleanup Day in September, volunteers from the UK and more than 50 other countries collected plastic and logged the brands of the litter that they found.  A report published this month, “BRANDED Volume II: Identifying the World’s Top Corporate Plastic Polluters.” , reveals the other companies in the list of top 10 polluters are Mondelēz International, Unilever, Mars, P&G, Colgate-Palmolive, Phillip Morris, and Perfetti Van Melle. It follows a Greenpeace US report earlier this month which criticised the use of false solutions to cut plastics, such as swapping throwaway plastic for throwaway paper, or bio-based plastics. Louise Edge, head of Greenpeace UK’s ocean plastics campaign said: “Yet again we’re seeing these corporate giants such as Coke, Ne...