Uploaded July 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
You consume (as in eat), on average, a credit card's worth of plastic every week. We all do, because plastic is everywhere. It's in our food, our water, the air that we breathe, it's in the top soil, it's in our pets, it's in our blood. The idea that plastic can be meaningfully recycled is a lie, and the industry has known it's a lie for 50 years. Where does it go? To landfills, waterways, and incinerators, before making its way back into our bodies in the form of microplastics.
Patreon: patreon.com/GeorgRockallSchmidt
Leave a tip: paypal.me/GeorgRockallSchmidt
Twitter: twitter.com/grockallschmidt
Facebook: facebook.com/profile.php?id=100025678273449
Sources
Our World in Data: Plastic Production
ourworldindata.org/plastic-pollution#key-insights
Critics call out plastics industry over "fraud of plastic recycling"
cbsnews.com/news/critics-call-out-plastics-industry-over-fraud-of-plastic-recycling
The Fraud of Plastic Recycling
climateintegrity.org/uploads/media/Fraud-of-Plastic-Recycling-2024.pdf
Creating a throw-away culture: How companies ingrained plastics in modern life
npr.org/2024/06/09/nx-s1-4942415/disposable-plastic-pollution-waste-single-use-recycling-climate-change-fossil-fuels
Why most plastic can’t be recycled
dw.com/en/why-most-plastic-cant-be-recycled/a-64978847
Only 5% of plastic in the U.S. is recyclable. What should you do with the rest?
wbur.org/hereandnow/2023/09/05/unrecyclable-plastic-pollution
The Age of Plastic: From Parkesine to pollution
sciencemuseum.org.uk/objects-and-stories/chemistry/age-plastic-parkesine-pollution
Microplastics are in our bodies. Here’s why we don’t know the health risks
sciencenews.org/article/microplastics-human-bodies-health-risks
Microplastics have been found in the human bloodstream
henryford.com/blog/2022/04/microplastics-in-human-bloodstream
Plastic ingestion by people could be equating to a credit card a week
https://www.newcastle.edu.au/newsroom/featured/plastic-ingestion-by-people-could-be-equating-to-a-credit-card-a-week
Plastic junk? Researchers find tiny particles in men's testicles
npr.org/sections/health-shots/2024/05/22/1252831827/microplastics-testicles-humans-health
A first overview of textile fibers, including microplastics, in indoor and outdoor environments
sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0269749116312325
Plastic contamination in agricultural soils: a review
enveurope.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s12302-023-00720-9
Exposure of U.S. adults to microplastics from commonly-consumed proteins
sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749123022352?via%3Dihub
Micro- and nano-plastics in edible fruit and vegetables. The first diet risks assessment for the general population
sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0013935120305703
Uptake and Accumulation of Nano/Microplastics in Plants: A Critical Review
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8618759
Breathing Plastic: The Health Impacts of Invisible Plastics in the Air
ciel.org/breathing-plastic-the-health-impacts-of-invisible-plastics-in-the-air
You consume (as in eat), on average, a credit card's worth of plastic every week. We all do, because plastic is everywhere. It's in our food, our water, the air that we breathe, it's in the top soil, it's in our pets, it's in our blood. The idea that plastic can be meaningfully recycled is a lie, and the industry has known it's a lie for 50 years. Where does it go? To landfills, waterways, and incinerators, before making its way back into our bodies in the form of microplastics.
Patreon: patreon.com/GeorgRockallSchmidt
Leave a tip: paypal.me/GeorgRockallSchmidt
Twitter: twitter.com/grockallschmidt
Facebook: facebook.com/profile.php?id=100025678273449
Sources
Our World in Data: Plastic Production
ourworldindata.org/plastic-pollution#key-insights
Critics call out plastics industry over "fraud of plastic recycling"
cbsnews.com/news/critics-call-out-plastics-industry-over-fraud-of-plastic-recycling
The Fraud of Plastic Recycling
climateintegrity.org/uploads/media/Fraud-of-Plastic-Recycling-2024.pdf
Creating a throw-away culture: How companies ingrained plastics in modern life
npr.org/2024/06/09/nx-s1-4942415/disposable-plastic-pollution-waste-single-use-recycling-climate-change-fossil-fuels
Why most plastic can’t be recycled
dw.com/en/why-most-plastic-cant-be-recycled/a-64978847
Only 5% of plastic in the U.S. is recyclable. What should you do with the rest?
wbur.org/hereandnow/2023/09/05/unrecyclable-plastic-pollution
The Age of Plastic: From Parkesine to pollution
sciencemuseum.org.uk/objects-and-stories/chemistry/age-plastic-parkesine-pollution
Microplastics are in our bodies. Here’s why we don’t know the health risks
sciencenews.org/article/microplastics-human-bodies-health-risks
Microplastics have been found in the human bloodstream
henryford.com/blog/2022/04/microplastics-in-human-bloodstream
Plastic ingestion by people could be equating to a credit card a week
https://www.newcastle.edu.au/newsroom/featured/plastic-ingestion-by-people-could-be-equating-to-a-credit-card-a-week
Plastic junk? Researchers find tiny particles in men's testicles
npr.org/sections/health-shots/2024/05/22/1252831827/microplastics-testicles-humans-health
A first overview of textile fibers, including microplastics, in indoor and outdoor environments
sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0269749116312325
Plastic contamination in agricultural soils: a review
enveurope.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s12302-023-00720-9
Exposure of U.S. adults to microplastics from commonly-consumed proteins
sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749123022352?via%3Dihub
Micro- and nano-plastics in edible fruit and vegetables. The first diet risks assessment for the general population
sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0013935120305703
Uptake and Accumulation of Nano/Microplastics in Plants: A Critical Review
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8618759
Breathing Plastic: The Health Impacts of Invisible Plastics in the Air
ciel.org/breathing-plastic-the-health-impacts-of-invisible-plastics-in-the-air
