Microplastics Are a ‘Big Time Bomb,’ Says Researcher

Approximately 57 million tons of plastic pollution is released into the planet annually, researchers say. 

Researchers at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom say microplastics from the pollution are far-reaching, even finding their way into the human body, ABC News reported on Wednesday, Sept. 4. 

NOAA’s National Ocean Service defines microplastics as “small plastic pieces less than five millimeters long which can be harmful to our ocean and aquatic life.”

The University of Leeds’ researchers published their findings in the journal Nature. They determined that the pollution, equalling 52 million metric tons, is enough to fill New York City’s Central Park with plastic waste as high as the Empire State Building.

Ahead of Wednesday’s findings, Sedat Gündoğdu, who studies microplastics at Cukurova University in Turkey, said, “It is now imperative to declare a global emergency,” The Guardian reported in late August. 

“Studies have detected tiny shards and specks of plastics in human lungs, placentas, reproductive organs, livers, kidneys, knee and elbow joints, blood vessels and bone marrow,” The Guardian added.

Adding to previous research, the study published in Wednesday’s journal revealed that Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa are the countries producing the most plastic waste.

India produces the most plastic pollution annually, — approximately 10.2 million tons, or one-fifth of the global total.

For cities, Leeds environmental engineering professor Costas Velis listed Lagos, Nigeria as the biggest generator of plastic polution.

“The big time bomb of microplastics are these microplastics released in the Global South mainly,” Velis said. “We already have a huge dispersal problem. They are in the most remote places … the peaks of Everest, in the Mariana Trench in the ocean, in what we breathe and what we eat and what we drink.”

China came in fourth place among countries, though Velis noted that they do incredible work to reduce plastic waste. Pakistan, Bangladesh, Russia and Brazil were also listed as top countries for pollution generation. 

The study also ranked countries who scored low in emitting pollution, with the United States coming in at 90th in plastic pollution with more than 52,500 tons (47,600 metric tons). The United Kingdom currently ranks 135th with nearly 5,100 tons (4,600 metric tons).

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According to Velis, the ongoing pollution is “everybody’s problem.”

“We shouldn’t put the blame, any blame, on the Global South,” the environmental engineering professor said. “And we shouldn’t praise ourselves about what we do in the Global North in any way.”

Neil Tangri, senior director of science and policy at GAIA, an agency that advocates for zero waste and environmental justice initiatives, said that while managing waste better is “necessary,” it’s “not the whole story,” ABC News reported.