This Plastic Free July, Ann Arbor’s More Life, Less Stuff campaign is raising awareness about how our clothing habits and consumption contribute to plastic pollution in our local waterways – a literal river of microplastics making its way into our wildlife and bodies. The More Life, Less Stuff campaign is a partnership of the City of Ann Arbor and the Ecology Center. Learn more at a2morelife.com.
A few summers ago, my friends and I went tubing in the Huron River. It was my first time tubing, and to say I was concerned would be an understatement. I was terrified. I worried that the current would take me away because I am not a strong swimmer. I imagined an elaborate helicopter rescue saving me from careening over a waterfall. I knew there were fish in the water, and I imagined accidentally ingesting some fish poop and being infected by a rare fish-poop virus. I was sure that my friends were leading me into near-certain death, but courageously, as I mentally planned my funeral, I put on my big-girl bathing suit and a life jacket and spent an idyllic afternoon floating down the river. Looking back, I thought I understood the dangers of the Huron River, when I never even saw the danger floating beside me.
The Huron River — and every other river — is filled with plastic. Most bacteria don't eat plastic the way they eat natural materials to break them down. So, plastic doesn't decompose the way other materials do. It just breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces over time, the smallest of which are called microplastics and nanoplastics. Because so much of our world is composed of plastic, microplastics and nanoplastics are everywhere. They are in the water, the air, and our bodies.
To learn more, I sat down with Ecology Center Senior Scientist Gillian Miller, Ph.D and asked some questions about this invisible threat flowing freely through our waterways.
How do microplastics get in the water?
One of the most significant contributors of microplastics to waterways is laundry. Remember the bathing suit from my tubing adventure? According to the tag, it is 82% nylon and 18% spandex. Both materials are different kinds of plastic. Many of our clothes are made of plastic. Each time we wash clothes, they break down a little bit. Fibers from those clothes are washed into the water.
Dr. Miller explained what happens next: "Everything that goes down the drain in our homes gets treated at the wastewater treatment plant, and the liquid portion is discharged to rivers and waterways. The treatment doesn't remove all microplastics, so some get discharged that way directly into our waterways." With each load, a small amount of plastic goes into the water system and makes its way into larger bodies of water, including the Huron River.
Why are microplastics a problem for our health?
Microplastics have been found in nearly every organ and part of the body and in bodily fluids like blood, urine, and breast milk. Although we are just beginning to understand their effects, evidence already suggests harm.
Patients who had micro or nanoplastics in the plaques in their arteries were more likely to have a heart attack or stroke or die from any cause over a three-year follow-up period. These tiny plastic particles can also carry other hazardous chemicals with them, exacerbating harmful effects. They can harm the brain because the smallest particles can pass the blood-brain barrier, possibly increasing the risk of developing Parkinsons or Alzheimer's. In the lungs and other parts of the body, they can also cause inflammation.
Microplastics are also dangerous to animals. According to Dr. Miller, microplastics "look like food to a lot of wild animals, including birds, turtles, and all kinds of fish." If they eat enough plastic instead of food, they could die.
How can we help keep microplastics out of our waterways?
As individuals, the first thing we could do is buy less clothing. The more plastic clothes we buy, the more plastic clothes are produced. The more plastic clothes are produced, the more they break down into our air and waterways and eventually end up in landfills. The longer you can wear the clothes you have, the better for the environment.
If you need some clothing you don't already have, consider buying from thrift stores or other secondhand retailers or joining your local Buy Nothing group*. However, if and when you do buy clothing, Dr. Miller suggests you try to buy high-quality clothing that lasts a long time. When asked about materials, she said, "Natural materials in general are going to be better: wool and hemp and cotton," encouraging us to buy organic if that is within our budget. The issues around pesticide use in non-organic cotton production could warrant its own dedicated story.
Also, we can do less laundry. For example, I wash my bathing suit every time I wear it, but I don't have to wash my jeans with the same frequency. The less often we wash our clothes, the less plastic we put into the water system. Also, the longer the clothes last. It has the added benefit of saving time and money. Win-win.
The longer you wear your clothes, the more value you get from them. That bathing suit was about $25 in 2014. If I have used it once per year for the last ten years, then I have used it ten times, making my cost per use $2.50. If I can keep it for another five years, that would bring my cost per use down to $1.66. The longer we use items, the more bang we get for our bucks. Higher quality clothes tend to last longer, often making them cheaper per use than cheap clothes that you may only be able to wear a few times before they become damaged.
When clothes wear out, we can repurpose them. Growing up, we dusted using single socks, saving money by using what we already had rather than buying expensive dusters. My brother used to clean his car with soft, old t-shirts to ensure he wouldn't scratch the paint. These creative uses for our old items helped save money while protecting the environment and keeping our old clothing out of landfills.
We're ready to take the No New Clothes challenge. Are you?
Video 3 (Micro Plastics & Clothes) from Marcus Thomas on Vimeo.
And Don’t Forget to Vote!
According to Dr. Miller, the most important thing we can do is vote. She said, "Individual people cannot shop their way out of the microplastics problem. There have to be political solutions at the government level to these pollution and environmental destruction issues." Dr. Miller encourages us to let our representatives know that we care about environmental policy and that protecting our families and our world from microplastics is essential to us.
As I think back to that day tubing on the river, I remember being awed by how beautiful it was to watch the water sparkle in the sunshine and feel connected to the community and the wildlife it sustains. Water is life, and keeping our waterways healthy is our responsibility.
*Stay tuned for our next story for the More Life, Less Stuff campaign about our local Sharing Economy and Buy Nothing groups!