The Plastic Crisis Keeps Flashing Regularly

"A few days ago, several friends sent me the news that 'Microplastics have entered the human brain, and the weight of microplastics in the brain even exceeds that of a plastic spoon.'"

Since I started working in an environmental protection agency a few years ago, I've been paying extra attention to the materials of daily necessities and often remind my friends, either intentionally or unintentionally, to "avoid the pitfalls." Gradually, when my friends come across relevant content, they'll send it to me for verification. The most frequently asked questions are about plastics - "Can plastic boxes be used to hold pickles?" "Is it true that all black plastics are recycled plastics?"

I believe I'm not the only one with such experiences. News about the hazards of plastics seems to be a system notification that pops up regularly in the "Earth Online." You can see it every once in a while.

Also, every time there's news about the carcass of a large marine animal on the beach, upon dissection, it always turns out that "its stomach is full of plastic bags." When you go hiking and try to pick up litter along the way, you just can't seem to finish. After too much anxiety, it turns into annoyance. Some people choose to ignore these reports, thinking that "besides worrying, there's nothing we can do, so it's better not to read them."

This time, the news about "microplastics entering the brain" has once again caused panic among my friends.

I originally wanted to comfort them by saying, "Just because plastics are found doesn't necessarily mean they're harming the brain." But then I immediately remembered that researchers have already found many associations between microplastics and human diseases. In the end, I gave a rather unconvincing reply: "Actually, there are microplastics in the air. It's not something we can completely avoid if we want to." As a result, it made my friends even more anxious.

Although we all know deep down that the proliferation of plastic products is a big problem, it's difficult for non - professionals to figure out exactly what the problems are. We even have a hard time distinguishing which daily - use items are made of plastic and which aren't. This ubiquitous danger is more likely to make people feel powerless, anxious, and frustrated than scared.

Is it possible to avoid using plastics in daily life? At the height of my plastic anxiety, I once joined some short - term practice groups. We recorded the amount of plastic waste we produced every day and discussed ways to avoid generating plastic waste with group members. We found that with extra attention, we could achieve "zero plastic" for a day or two, but no one could keep it up for 21 days. On the day when I completely "broke the streak," I received a box of peaches. After opening the plastic tape on the package, there were more than a dozen peaches, each wrapped in a foam net. That day, I wrote in my record: "Today, I produced countless plastic wastes."

I can't blame the fruit farmers for bagging the peaches because they have to compensate for every damaged fruit. The same goes for buying fruits at physical supermarkets.

It's obvious that the plastic problem has gone beyond our individual control. I once joked that to cure the "ecological anxiety" caused by plastics, we can only use the "Morita Therapy": live with the problem of plastic pollution and continue to use plastics.

But does "living with plastics" mean that we're completely powerless in the face of the plastic problem? Is there a second - best option, a way to protect ourselves as much as possible within our control?

For me, understanding the hazards of plastics is the starting point for dealing with "plastic anxiety."

What Exactly Are the Health Hazards of Plastics?

The entire production process of plastics is complex and lengthy. Simply put, it can be understood as combining "plastic monomers (synthetic resin particles) + additives." When plastic products age and break, they don't immediately revert to monomers but degrade into large plastic fragments, microplastics, and various additives.

What pose health risks to ordinary people are mainly microplastics and plastic additives. The more fragile and easily breakable the plastic is, the more of these two substances it will release.

Microplastics refer to plastic particles with a diameter of less than 5 millimeters. Currently, more and more studies have proven that microplastics may cause various health risks. A study last year found that compared with patients without microplastics in their carotid arteries, patients with microplastics in their carotid artery plaques have a 3.53 - fold higher risk of heart disease, stroke, or all - cause death. At the same time, studies on other organisms have found that microplastics can induce inflammation, cause embryonic malformations, and reduce fertility levels. The physical structure of microplastics with numerous pores also enables them to adsorb heavy metals, antibiotics, and other substances in the environment.

Many additives themselves are toxic. The most common ones are phthalates and bisphenol A.

Phthalates (PAEs) are generally used as plasticizers to improve the plasticity of plastics. Soft and malleable plastics usually contain more plasticizers. Phthalates are a very large category of substances, and the amount added to plastics is usually 10% - 60%, with a maximum of up to 90%.

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a resin monomer that is used in many scenarios: epoxy resins (food containers, beverage bottles, can inner coatings), cashier receipts, plastic water bottles, eyeglass lenses, erasers, and so on.

Both of these substances have been found to interfere with the endocrine system because their structures are similar to that of estrogen.

Once you know the names of these toxic additives, you can directly ask the merchants three questions when making a purchase: What is the material of this product? Does it contain phthalates or bisphenols? What is the safe usage environment?

Suggestions for Avoiding Toxic Plastics

After studying relevant materials and going through a period of practice and exploration, I've roughly sorted out my own "toxic - avoidance" methods, which you can adjust according to your own situation.

Suggestion 1: Pay Attention to Plastic Labels and Avoid PVC and PS

The first thing for ordinary people to understand about plastics is to pay attention to plastic labels. They represent different plastic components and have different uses. Once used beyond the normal environment, they may cause harm, and most people have a certain understanding of this. For example, PET mineral water bottles cannot be used for heating.

Among them, there are two types of plastics that are most likely to be toxic and need to be given extra attention in daily use:

No. 3 plastic PVC (polyvinyl chloride) can be regarded as the MVP among dangerous plastics. The reason is that pure PVC is too brittle and requires a large amount of additives to have good performance. The plasticizer content in soft PVC products (such as shower curtains) is as high as 60% - 70%. However, PVC monomers cannot stably combine with these additives. After production, the additives will be released from the plastic at different speeds. This is also why most PVC plastic products have a "glue smell," which is the smell of the released additives.

The most common PVC products include: plastic shower curtains, disposable packaging bags, plastic water pipes, stone - plastic floors, plastic wrap, various plastic cards such as credit cards, billboards, table mats, cleaning brushes, puffs, children's toy balls, stationery, and raincoats.

No. 6 plastic PS (polystyrene) is also called foam plastic, expanded plastic, or Styrofoam. It is now most commonly used in foam insulation boxes for transportation.

The monomer styrene of PS plastic is a carcinogen. Although PS plastic itself is non - toxic, it is extremely heat - intolerant. Its safe temperature range is only 70 - 90 degrees. At around 70 degrees, it will deform and collapse, and start to release styrene and various additives.

The previously common foam lunch boxes were banned in China in 2020 due to their high risk. When you search for them on Taobao, you'll be informed that their sales are prohibited due to the "plastic ban order," but they can still be seen in the market.

It should be noted that these PVC and PS plastics can be used in scenarios permitted by regulations. However, since plastics will slowly release their internal substances even under normal conditions, we should still try to avoid using them in daily life.

Suggestion 2: Use Plastics for Food Packaging with Caution

Daily diet is one of the main ways for the human body to ingest microplastics and plastic additives. Takeout packaging is a gathering place for inferior plastic products. The high - temperature and high - oil nature of Chinese cuisine provides convenience for the release of additives. So, eating less takeout as much as possible can already reduce a large part of the risk. Therefore, the best way to "avoid plastics" is to bring your own glass, stainless - steel, or ceramic lunch boxes to pack food, or cook at home directly.

However, these lunch boxes are too heavy. For office workers, carrying them to and from work is like a form of torture. As a compromise, bringing your own relatively safe PP plastic lunch boxes is better than nothing. Relatively speaking, the risk of using them is much smaller than that of the disposable lunch boxes used for takeout.

In addition, no matter what kind of plastic packaging food comes into contact with, you must follow the principle of "no alcohol, less oil, and no hot - cooked food." That is, don't use plastic containers to hold alcoholic or high - fat foods, and don't use plastic containers for high - temperature heating.

Although the theoretical deformation temperature of PP plastic used in general plastic lunch boxes is 120 degrees, the temperature of steam can reach this critical point, and heated oil can easily exceed 170 degrees. So, it's better to avoid putting plastic lunch boxes directly into a steamer or a microwave oven for heating.

In fact, PP plastic is not an ideal container for freezing either because it becomes brittle below 0 degrees and is very easy to break. Before I understood plastics, I once bought a batch of PP plastic sealed boxes for home use. Most of them have been broken, and I'm gradually phasing them out.

If you have to order takeout, you can give priority to low - temperature and low - fat foods, such as cold noodles and salads, or foods with less soup, such as shredded chicken rice.

Suggestion 3: Don't Reuse Disposable Plastic Products for the Sake of Thrift

Since disposable plastic products are not designed for reuse, their material stability, wear resistance, and cleaning difficulty are not considered during the design process. Therefore, they are more likely to shed microplastics and release additives during use. Although reusing them can save resources, there are also certain risks, especially when using them to store food.

On the contrary, expensive and durable plastics are often more stable and safer because their standard testing processes include requirements such as "the amount of released substances after 1000 washes will not be harmful to human health" and "the surface remains intact and does not disintegrate after 1000 rubs."

In addition, many disposable products do not go through the necessary cleaning and sterilization processes during production. Even for tableware, it's very likely that we'll ingest the complex - component dust and bacteria along with the products. The custom of Cantonese people to rinse tableware with tea before dining out is not entirely a superstitious comfort. If you come into contact with disposable plastic products such as express delivery packaging, it's also recommended to wash your hands.

In fact, merchants care less about the quality and safety of "use - and - throw - away" products than consumers do. The problems with disposable underwear and sanitary napkins exposed during the 3.15 Consumer Rights Day recently also confirm this point.

Many people don't know that sanitary napkins are also plastic products. The surface layer of traditional sanitary napkins is a perforated film (mesh surface) or non - woven fabric (cotton surface). The middle absorbent layer uses fluff pulp, and some also add super absorbent polymers. The bottom layer uses PE polyethylene film to prevent leakage. If it's a liquid sanitary napkin, it has even less to do with plant fibers. Its absorbent layer is a patented polyacrylate foam, which also belongs to a type of plastic.

I switched to using a reusable silicone menstrual cup several years ago. Considering that there is still no reassuring national standard for sanitary napkins, readers who are very worried about this can consider this option and take control of the cleaning and disinfection process themselves.

In addition, many disposable plastic products do not label the plastic type, and it's very difficult to identify them with the naked eye. Since you can't tell them apart, try not to use them actively. If you get them passively, you can use them a limited number of times or don't use them as food containers.

Suggestion 4: Don't Use Plastic Wrap and Plastic Bags

Film - type products can be said to be a troublesome category among disposable plastic products. They are soft, transparent, and lightweight, but these properties are achieved by sacrificing wear resistance and stability and adding a large amount of additives.

Moreover, their "preservation" function is not that effective. Plastic wrap and plastic bags themselves do not have the function of sterilization and preservation. They mainly achieve the effect by isolating air and dirt. But sometimes they can have the opposite effect - I believe everyone is familiar with the vegetable leaves that rot in plastic bags. The vegetables I directly put in the refrigerator drawer can last for half a month without any problem.

● For vegetable - type ingredients, you can generally put them directly in the drawer of the refrigerator's fresh - keeping layer and place a water - absorbing cloth under them. This can prevent them from being frozen and rotting, and it's also easy to take them out, saving time and effort. This method allows me to buy groceries only once every half a month.

For food that needs to be stored in separate portions, stainless - steel or PP plastic sealed boxes can do the job. The quick - freezing effect of stainless - steel is more suitable for storing meat than plastic bags, and hard materials won't freeze and stick to the food like films. Even thick sealed bags have better strength.

If you feel that you can't do without these two things, it's strongly recommended to at least avoid PVC and don't heat them or let them come into contact with high - fat foods during normal use. My family also uses sealed bags mainly made of PE, but I basically don't use them to hold fatty foods. Pickled foods are definitely stored in glass sealed boxes.

At the same time, film - type plastic waste is more difficult to recycle and process, and it's easier to leak into the natural environment. It's almost impossible for marine animals to get rid of it when it gets entangled on them. For environmental reasons, I'm also reluctant to use them. My family hasn't used these two things for three or four years.

Suggestion 5: Reject "Invisible" Plastics Such as Non - Woven Fabrics and Laundry Pods

Non - woven fabrics are formally called "non - woven textiles." They are cloth - like items, and most non - woven fabrics are plastic products, with only a small part containing natural fibers. In addition to being used as packaging bags, non - woven fabrics are also used in daily life as tea bags, sanitary napkins, facial cleansing wipes (instead of cotton pads), and disposable cleaning cloths.

The so - called "water - soluble and degradable" plastic products, the most common ones are laundry pods and dish - washing tablets. Recently, I've seen that some products also use water - soluble and degradable plastic films for environmental protection reasons. I avoid using all such products because although the common PVOH/PVA (vinyl polymers) and PHA (polyhydroxyalkanoates) materials claim to be able to "degrade" in water, this "degradation" doesn't mean decomposing into carbon dioxide and water. Instead, they partially degrade into invisible microplastics and additives. The degradation performance of these microplastic particles in the water environment is still highly controversial, and some studies have also pointed out that they are biologically toxic.

I think it's not a good deal to exchange a little convenience for the active production of a large amount of microplastics. Moreover, these products are easy to be over - used because of their fixed specifications, and they are also more expensive than traditional detergents.

Our Safe Distance from Plastics

All the above are just ways to "coexist with plastics." As for completely avoiding the harm of plastics, it's almost an impossible task. Plastic products have spread across all aspects of human production and life. Completely eliminating them is almost a fantasy. In some necessary scenarios, plastics are really cheap and useful - it's hard to imagine how hospitals would operate without plastic infusion tubes. And the fact that a large amount of microplastics has already spread in the air and water bodies is an established fact. With the current technological level, it's impossible to completely isolate them from human contact.

But don't be anxious about this. After all, "solving plastic pollution" is a highly professional public problem, and the responsibility should fall on the government, enterprises, and experts. When you start to worry that personal changes can't solve the problem but still feel uncontrollable anxiety and powerlessness, you can tell yourself, "I'm not the primary responsible party for pollution" and try to urge those who should really make changes to fulfill their responsibilities.

What we can do is to maintain a safe distance from plastics and use plastic products within a limited and safe range. Changing our mindset is very important: no longer regard plastic products as "convenient products" that can be used and discarded immediately, but as one of the durable products with a specific usage range. Just like metal tableware can't be used in the microwave oven and over - glazed ceramics have heavy - metal risks, since we can use metal and ceramics, we can also use plastics, but we need to pay attention to the usage scenarios and keep safe. The really dangerous thing is to be completely ignorant of plastics even though our lives are full of them.

There are so many risk factors threatening humanity in modern society: the abuse of antibiotics, second - hand smoke, cooking oil pollution... Plastic is just one of the ordinary ones. At least the facts prove that eating microplastics won't kill you immediately, nor will you turn into a "plastic person." So, there's still hope for peaceful coexistence with plastics.