According to the statistics of the United Nations Environment Programme, more than 8 million tons of plastic waste are abandoned in the ocean every year, accounting for 80% of marine waste, which has threatened the survival of marine wildlife. In addition, these plastics, which may take more than 1000 years to decompose, will first decompose into tiny "microplastics" fragments. Microplastics is everywhere. It may appear in Swiss mountains, polar glaciers, fish and shrimp in the sea, beer, salt or faucets, and now they also appear in human feces.

More than 50% of human excrement in the world may contain microplastics particles.

European Joint Gastroenterology published a paper at the academic conference on June 22nd 10. A research team composed of Vienna Medical University in Austria and Austrian Federal Environment Agency found nine different plastic particles in the feces of eight subjects aged 33-65 from Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Britain, Austria, Japan and Finland, with an average of 10.

Dr Philip Schwabl, the lead researcher of the study, estimated that microplastics may be found in more than 50% of human feces in the world. The diameter of nine kinds of microplastics found in the study is between 50 and 500 microns, including polypropylene (PP), polyethylene and terephthalate (PET), which are common plastic products in our daily life.

The earth is entering the era of "plastic planet"

Roland Geyer, an industrial ecologist at the University of California, Santa Barbara, pointed out that the amount of all plastics produced by human beings so far is 8.3 billion tons. Among them, about 6.3 billion tons became plastic waste, and 79% of these plastic wastes were filled into landfills or placed in the natural environment.

At present, the world consumes about 245 million tons of plastic every year, of which only 14% of plastic packaging is recycled, and13 of plastic directly pollutes the environment, especially the ocean. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is the most common bottled water. According to statistics, 3,400 Coca-Cola plastic bottles are thrown away every second. Although PET has great recycling value, its recycling rate is only about half that of garbage.

In addition, many non-degradable waste plastic bottles sink to the bottom of the sea, which may take hundreds of years to completely degrade, and chemical residues pollute the ocean for a longer time. The paleontologist JanZalasiewicz of the Department of Geology of the University of Leicester, England, has confirmed that plastics are being deposited in the stratum and the earth's surface is being changed by a large number of plastics.

Roland Geyer said: "Human beings must face up to this problem. At the current speed, we are on the way to the' plastic planet'. 」

Scientists warn of the harm of plastics in the food chain!

Microplastics has been found in about 1 14 kinds of aquatic organisms, ranging from plankton to whales. Microplastics will enter the blood and lymphatic system of animals, even the liver, causing damage to the intestinal tract and reproductive system, which will bring fatal risks to these aquatic organisms.

The researchers pointed out that microplastics in the intestine may affect the immune response of the digestive system, or contribute to the spread of toxic chemicals and pathogens. However, the sample size of this study is only 8, with an average of 20 microplastics particles per 10g of feces. This pollution concentration is relatively low, so it is necessary to expand the research scale to find the problem of plastics.

But CNN reported that when microplastics is further broken down into smaller particles, it is likely to be absorbed by the human circulatory system and enter human organs. Frank, a professor at King's College London, said: "When the concentration exceeds the standard, these plastics and their residual chemicals will harm or kill cells. Protein and DNA of cells may be damaged. 」

The late famous physicist Hawking expressed his views on the future of mankind 1 years ago: "Humans now have the technology to destroy the earth where they live, but they have not developed the ability to escape from it. Maybe in a few hundred years, we will establish human colonies on other planets, but now we only have one planet, and we need to work together to protect it. 」

Indeed, the carbon dioxide and too much plastic we use have seriously damaged the ecosystem, and perhaps one day nature will give us an irreparable counterattack. A devastating scene similar to the end of the world is staged in the real world.

Reference article: Plastic in your poop: Research warns that microplastics may be hurting all of us.