Life in Plastic, It’s (Not) Fantastic
Hamburg’s water utility is helping its customers move towards a microplastic-free world.
Over the past six decades, we have created 8.3 billion metric tons of plastics, most of which have ended up in landfills or littering the natural environment. In fact, just 9% of the plastic we use today is recycled.
A sea of plastic
Each year, up to 12 million tons of plastic enters our oceans, the equivalent to one rubbish truck every minute. Plastic litter on the streets too can enter the ocean via drainage networks or rivers that flow into them: it has been estimated that the world’s major rivers carry up to 2.41 million tons of plastic into the sea each year, the equivalent to 100,000 rubbish trucks. So much plastic is flowing into the ocean that scientists estimate that by mid-century our oceans will contain more plastic waste than fish, ton for ton.
Drinking plastic too
Tiny bits of plastic have already been detected in our drinking water. One study of water samples in cities and towns across five continents found that 83% of the samples collected, including tap water from the Environmental Protection Agency’s headquarters in Washington DC, contained microscopic plastic fibers.
Hamburg Wasser helping customers say no to plastic
Hamburg’s water utility (Hamburg Wasser) is helping customers recognize which shower gels and shampoo contain microplastics. Shower gels and shampoo are labeled as ‘creamy’, ‘soft’, ‘smooth’, ‘sensitive’, ‘mild’ or ‘nourishing’ and have appeal, however, these designations are often an indication that the product contains microplastics. Even products for babies can contain microplastics and this is also true for organic products. The rationale behind the use of microplastics is that they ensure a film forms on the skin and that the gel is supple.
Impossible to remove
The problem is that sewage treatment plants cannot completely filter out microplastics. In Hamburg Wasser’s sewage treatment plant, the finest screens only catch plastic particles larger than three millimeters. Particles smaller than that — if they do not settle in sewage sludge — reach the Elbe with the treated wastewater and later into the sea. Once in the sea, these small pieces of plastic disintegrate into even smaller pieces. At this size, it’s almost impossible to be removed.
Plastic has many names
Hamburg Wasser has published on its website a range of common plastic names, courtesy of Germany’s Federation for the Environment and Nature Conservation (BUND), to help customers become more conscious consumers in the fight against microplastics. Specifically, the list is designed to alert consumers to products containing ingredients with ‘poly’ and ‘nylon’ including polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, Nylon-12, Nylon-6, polyurethane, Acrylates Copolymer, Acrylates Crosspolymer, polyacrylate, polymethylmethacrylate, and polystyrene.
Online resources to become plastic-free
Hamburg Wasser is also pointing customers to two online resources that help consumers choose microplastic-free products:
- a shopping app ‘Codecheck’ where consumers can scan the barcode and get information about the ingredients
- a shopping guide that lists body care products with plastic additives
The take-out
We all have a part to play in ensuring our oceans (and our drinking water) is plastic free.
**Join the new ‘Blue-Green Infrastructure’ LinkedIn group here:https://www.linkedin.com/groups/10412555/
**Join the new ‘Circular Water Economy’ LinkedIn group here: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/10416662/
