EDITORIAL
FOR AUGUST 13, 2023
The alarming case of microplastics
In 1869, John Wesley Hyatt invented the first synthetic
polymer after being inspired by a New York firm’s offer of $10,000
for anyone who could provide a substitute for ivory. There was a
strain on the supply of natural ivory obtained through the
slaughter of wild elephants because of the growing popularity of
billiards.
Hyatt’s discovery was considered revolutionary because
human manufacturing was no longer constrained by nature’s
limits. The invention provided protection to nature and its
resources from the destructive forces of human needs. That was
the start of what was called the plastics revolution.
In 1907, Leo Baekeland invented Bakelite, the first fully
synthetic plastic with no molecule found in nature. The material
of a thousand uses then became the subject of mass production,
which can be shaped or molded into almost anything, providing
endless possibilities.
The rest is history. Plastics have become part of our
everyday lives and provided us with so much convenience that we
cannot live without them.
But later we realize that the material of endless possibilities
has brought along problems of unprecedented proportions.
The World Bank estimates that the Philippines use an
overwhelming 163 million pieces of sachets per day. A staggering
2.3 million tons of plastic waste are generated in the country
annually. Only 28% of these plastics are recycled, while the
remaining 72% are discarded.
Recently, Philippine scientists reported that microplastics
have entered the human food chain. The team led by Dr. Deo
Florence Onda of UP Diliman sampled 240 mussels in eight (8)
study sites such as the wet market in Marikina, fish port in
Navotas, fish landing center in Bacoor, riverside in Obando,
aquaculture farms in Antique, Bayabay, Macelelon, and Bicol.
They found that 100% of the samples tested positive for
microplastics.
Another research led by Dr. Rey Y. Capangpangan found that
plastic debris and microplastics are present in various fish,
sediment, water, and benthic organisms.
There are studies that prove that microplastics may affect
human health through food consumption and inhalation. Ingested
or inhaled microplastics may accumulate in the body, trigger an
immune response, or cause local particle toxicity.
Ironically, what was discovered and marketed as an
invention that saves nature from depletion is now posing a threat
to human existence. It is high time that we realize that there is
always a cost for everything we enjoy. Plastics were the solution
to a problem in the past, but their overuse begot another problem
crying out for a solution. Every time we use plastics, we must
remember that convenience can be quite expensive.
(Sources:https://nrcp.dost.gov.ph/the-growing-threat-of-
microplastics-and-plastics/and
https://sciencehistory.org/education/classroom-activities/role-
playing-games/case-of-plastics/history-and-future-of-plastics/)