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A Slightly Greener Thing
Microplastic Pollution Is a Much Bigger Problem Than You Realize
The latest research suggests that our bodies, like our oceans and ground soils, are now dumping grounds for microplastic waste
You probably already know about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. It’s the Texas-sized mass of plastic debris that’s floating in the ocean between California and Hawaii.
Except it’s not Texas-sized anymore. It’s much larger.
According to estimates from The Ocean Cleanup, a non-profit research group, the garbage patch is now twice the size of Texas. Also, it’s no longer an only child; four more incomprehensibly large collections of plastic waste are spreading like metastasizing tumors in the open waters of our blue planet.
While the ocean garbage patches are the most arresting indicators of global plastic contamination, they’re only part of the story — and maybe not the most concerning part.
“I’m at least as worried about plastic pollution in terrestrial environments as I am about pollution in water bodies,” says Roland Geyer, PhD, a professor of industrial ecology at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
