World Environment Day: Effects Of Plastic Pollution To Human Health  

The UN General Assembly designated 5 June as World Environment Day.  The first celebration, under the slogan “Only One Earth” took place in 1973. The theme for the 2023 celebration hosted by Côte d’Ivoire is: Solutions to Plastic Pollution

It is estimated that more than 430 million tonnes of plastic is produced every year worldwide, half of which is designed to be used only once. Of that, less than 10 per cent is recycled.

An estimated 19-23 million tonnes end up in lakes, rivers and seas annually. Microplastics – tiny plastic particles up to 5mm in  diameter find their way into food, water and air.

It is  also estimated that each person on the planet consumes more than 50,000 plastic particles per year –and many more if inhalation is considered. Here are four ways plastic pollution affects human health.

We breathe plastic

Many additives in plastic are considered extremely harmful for people and the environment, and while we do not have enough information yet on the true magnitude of how plastic pollution affects human health, it is clear that increasing pollution levels do not bode well for us.

We absorb plastic through our clothes

It is possible that a single load of laundry could release up to thousands of microfibers from our clothes into the water supply.

We drink micro plastic through bottled water

The World Health Organisation (WHO) published shocking research in 2018 which exposed the presence of microplastics in 90% of bottled water that had been tested.

We eat plastic contaminated seafood

With every passing day, as we consume more contaminated seafood, plastic pollution affects human health, even if these effects have not manifested just yet.                 

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