Invisibles
The Plastic Inside Us
An Investigative Report By: Chris Tyree, Journalist, Email and Dan Morrison, Journalist, Email
ONE WORLD, ONE STORY
ORB IMAGES
DAGUPAN, PHILIPPINES. A YOUNG BOY CLIMBS OVER PLASTIC DEBRIS IN A 50-YEAR-OLD DUMP OVERLOOKING THE OCEAN IN THIS SEASIDE TOWN. MOST OF THE BIODEGRADABLE ITEMS HAVE LONG SINCE ROTTED, LEAVING A MOUNTAIN OF MULTICOLORED PLASTICS THAT FLOAT OUT TO SEA ON THE COASTAL WINDS.
THE PLASTIC AGE
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA. PLASTIC IMPROVES DAILY LIFE IN ALMOST UNCOUNTABLE WAYS. AND PLASTIC IMPRISONS US IN WASTE AND MICROSCOPIC POLLUTION. TODAY’S CARS ARE GETTING LIGHTER, MORE FUEL-EFFICIENT, AND EMITTING LESS CARBON, DUE TO COMPONENTS MADE OF PLASTIC AND OTHER MATERIALS.
NORFOLK, VIRGINIA. TIRE DUST MADE OF STYRENE BUTADIENE RUBBER IS WASHED INTO SEWERS, AND FROM THERE INTO STREAMS, RIVERS, AND OCEANS. CARS AND TRUCKS EMIT MORE THAN 20 GRAMS OF TIRE DUST FOR EVERY 100 KILOMETERS THEY DRIVE. IT ADDS UP. NORWAY, FOR EXAMPLE, PRODUCES A KILOGRAM OF TIRE AND ROAD DUST EACH YEAR FOR EVERY NORWEGIAN WOMAN, MAN, AND CHILD.
VIRGINIA, USA. CLOTHES MADE FROM SYNTHETIC PLASTIC FIBERS ARE OFTEN LIGHTER, AND LAST LONGER, THAN THOSE MADE FROM COTTON OR WOOL. THEY ARE OFTEN MARKETED AS RECYCLED PLASTIC. BUT WEARING AND WASHING THESE GARMENTS INTRODUCES MICROPLASTICS BACK INTO THE ENVIRONMENT.
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA. EACH SYNTHETIC GARMENT EMITS AT LEAST 1,900 MICROSCOPIC PLASTIC FIBERS WHEN MACHINE WASHED. THESE FIBERS FIND THEIR WAY INTO RIVERS, LAKES, OCEANS – AND QUITE POSSIBLY YOUR DRINKING WATER. PROFESSOR MARK BROWNE SEARCHES SEDIMENT FROM A STORM DRAIN ON COOGEE BEACH FOR MICROSCOPIC PLASTIC FIBERS.
HONG KONG, CHINA. ADVANCES IN PLASTIC PACKAGING CAN EXTEND THE LIFE OF PERISHABLE FOODS, THUS REDUCING FOOD WASTE. COMPOSITE PLASTIC PACKAGING CAN ADD MORE THAN TWO WEEKS TO THE SHELF-LIFE OF STEAK, WHICH HAS PARTICULARLY HIGH ENVIRONMENTAL COSTS. POLYSTYRENE IS WIDELY USED FOR BRINGING CHILLED, FRESH SEAFOOD TO MARKET.
HONG KONG, CHINA. SINGLE-USE TAKE-OUT MEAL AND PRODUCT PACKAGING ACCOUNT FOR 40 PERCENT OF THE 300 MILLION TONS OF PLASTIC PRODUCED EACH YEAR. THEY ARE INDESTRUCTIBLE, AND A PERSISTENT POLLUTANT THAT’S KILLING WILDLIFE AROUND THE WORLD. ON THIS BEACH IN HONG KONG, DR. LINCOLN FOK FINDS FRAGMENTS OF EXPANDED POLYSTYRENE FOAM ARE MOST PLENTIFUL.
WILLIAMTOWN, AUSTRALIA. THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT GAVE NEVILLE FRANKS THREE PALLETS OF BOTTLED WATER AFTER HIS HOUSEHOLD CISTERN WAS CONTAMINATED BY CHEMICAL RUNOFF. BOTTLED WATER IS A STAPLE OF DISASTER RESPONSE. THE GLOBAL PACKAGED WATER MARKET IS WORTH USD$170 BILLION AND IS EXPECTED TO GROW TO USD$307 BILLION BY 2024.
KAMPALA, UGANDA. PLASTIC BOTTLES SCAVENGED FROM THE KITEZI LANDFILL WAIT TO BE SORTED BY COLOR AND TYPE. THE UNITED STATES IS THE LEADING CONSUMER OF BOTTLED WATER, AND DISCARDS MORE THAN 50 MILLION PET BOTTLES EACH DAY. THAT’S 18 BILLION UNRECYCLED BOTTLES EACH YEAR — OR USD$4.5 BILLION WORTH OF PLASTIC.
CONTAMINATED
WASHINGTON, DC. ORB FOUND APPROXIMATELY 16 FIBERS IN THE TAP WATER AT THE VISITOR'S CENTER IN THE U.S. CAPITOL, HOME TO BOTH HOUSES OF CONGRESS. LABORATORY FILTER PAPER IS DYED WITH A SUBSTANCE THAT TURNS IT PINK TO BETTER IDENTIFY PLASTIC FIBERS.
NEW DELHI, INDIA. SEVENTEEN TAP WATER SAMPLES WERE TAKEN IN THE INDIAN CAPITAL. A TOTAL OF 14, OR 82 PERCENT, TESTED POSITIVE FOR MICROSCOPIC PLASTIC FIBERS.
TRUMP TOWER, NEW YORK. ORB FOUND TWO PLASTIC FIBERS IN THE TAP WATER AT TRUMP TOWER IN NEW YORK CITY. ABOUT 94 PERCENT OF OUR SAMPLES FROM THE UNITED STATES TESTED POSITIVE FOR THE PRESENCE OF MICROSCOPIC PLASTIC FIBERS.
JAKARTA, INDONESIA. A MOTHER AND CHILDREN WALK TO COLLECT WATER FROM A NEIGHBORHOOD TAP WHILE A NEARBY TRUCK IS LOADED WITH PLASTIC FOR RECYCLING. OF 21 WATER SAMPLES TAKEN IN THE JAKARTA METROPOLITAN AREA, 16, OR 76 PERCENT, TESTED POSITIVE FOR MICROSCOPIC PLASTIC FIBERS.
QUITO, ECUADOR. RESEARCHERS IDENTIFIED PLASTIC IN 18 OUT OF 24 WATER SAMPLES, OR 75 PERCENT, IN QUITO AND NEARBY MUNICIPALITIES. (PHOTO BY ISADORA ROMERO / ÑAN)
JINJA, UGANDA. JAMES NSEREKO COLLECTS A SAMPLE AT HIS VILLAGE TAP, THE FIRST STOP FOR LAKE VICTORIA WATER PROCESSED AT A NEARBY PUMPING STATION. NSEREKO’S SAMPLE CONTAINED FOUR MICROSCOPIC PLASTIC FIBERS. TWENTY-ONE OUT OF 25 SAMPLES IN KAMPALA AND JINJA TESTED POSITIVE FOR PLASTIC FIBERS, 81 PERCENT.
LONDON, ENGLAND. THE PRIVATE SLOANE CLUB IN CHELSEA HAS A MEMBERS-ONLY BAR, AND RENTS APARTMENTS STARTING AT ￡1540/USD$2000 A WEEK. A HALF-LITER WATER SAMPLE FROM THE EXCLUSIVE CLUB CONTAINED TWO MICROSCOPIC PLASTIC FIBERS. WE TESTED 18 SITES IN SEVEN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES. THIRTEEN HAD PLASTIC FIBERS. (PHOTO BY NICHOLAS CONNOR)
BEIRUT, LEBANON. SIXTEEN WATER SAMPLES WERE TAKEN IN THIS MEDITERRANEAN CITY. APPROXIMATELY 94 PERCENT TESTED POSITIVE FOR MICROSCOPIC PLASTIC FIBERS. “THIS RESEARCH ONLY SCRATCHES THE SURFACE, BUT IT SEEMS TO BE A VERY ITCHY ONE,” SAID HUSSAM HAWWA, CEO OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCE CONSULTANCY DIFAF, WHICH COLLECTED ORB’S LEBANON SAMPLES.
PLASTIC INVASION
EXETER, ENGLAND. POLYSTYRENE PARTICLES LESS THAN 50 NANOMETERS LONG (IN LIGHT FLUORESCENT GREEN) HAVE INFILTRATED THE GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT, ANTENNA, AND THORACIC APPENDAGES OF THIS FRESHWATER PLANKTER, DAPHNIA MAGNA. PLANKTON LIKE THESE ARE THE BEDROCK OF THE MARINE FOOD CHAIN. (PHOTO: CORIN LIDDLE)
GGABA LANDING SITE, UGANDA. WORKERS ON THE SHORE OF LAKE VICTORIA FILLET, SALT, AND SMOKE NILE PERCH FOR SHIPMENT TO THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO, WHILE A KESTREL REELS OVERHEAD. A 2015 STUDY FOUND PLASTIC FIBERS AND PARTICLES IN 20 PERCENT OF FISH SAMPLED FROM THE LAKE.
HONG KONG. FRESH FISH AWAIT SALE AT A MARKET IN THE CENTRAL DISTRICT. ITS BEACHES ARE MARRED BY PLASTIC WASTE AND MICROPLASTIC POLLUTION FLOWING FROM INDUSTRIAL CITIES ON THE NEARBY PEARL RIVER IN SOUTHERN CHINA. CHINA IS THE WORLD’S LEADING SOURCE OF MARINE PLASTIC POLLUTION. MICROPLASTICS HAVE BEEN FOUND IN 170 DIFFERENT SPECIES OF HONG KONG SEAFOOD.
JAKARTA, INDONESIA. A DIVER COLLECTS MUSSELS OFF A PIER IN JAKARTA BAY. MICROPLASTICS ARE SO PREVALENT IN MUSSELS THAT ONE STUDY SUGGESTS THEY “COULD BE USED AS A POTENTIAL BIOINDICATOR OF MICROPLASTIC POLLUTION OF THE COASTAL ENVIRONMENT.”
JINJA, UGANDA. CHILDREN COLLECT WATER FOR THEIR HOUSEHOLDS FROM LAKE VICTORIA. THE SECOND-LARGEST FRESHWATER LAKE IN THE WORLD IS THE PRIMARY SOURCE OF DRINKING WATER FOR 430 MILLION PEOPLE. A NEW STUDY OF MICROPLASTICS IN LAKE VICTORIA’S WATER BY RESEARCHERS FROM MAKERERE UNIVERSITY AND THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA IS DUE LATER THIS YEAR.
DAGUPAN, PHILIPPINES. PLASTIC WASTE BURNS AT A 50-YEAR-OLD LANDFILL. EACH YEAR, BETWEEN 60 MILLION AND 120 MILLION TONS OF PLASTIC WORLDWIDE GOES UNRECYCLED. THAT’S AS MUCH AS USD$120 BILLION IN LOST MATERIALS.
MUARA ANGKE, INDONESIA. A 2004 STUDY OF UMBILICAL CORDS FROM 10 NEWBORNS SHOWED THEY HAD BEEN BEEN EXPOSED TO NEARLY 300 DIFFERENT CHEMICALS BY THE TIME THEY ARE BORN. CHILDREN IN A FISHING VILLAGE WATCH AS MUSSELS ARE STEAMED OVER A FIRE FUELED BY BURNING POLYURETHANE FOAM.
JAKARTA BAY, INDONESIA. INDONESIA, WITH A POPULATION OF 257.6 MILLION, IS THE WORLD’S SECOND-BIGGEST SOURCE OF MARINE PLASTIC WASTE. (CHINA IS FIRST.) THIS CHAIN OF MORE THAN 18,000 ISLANDS DUMPED 3.2 MILLION TONS OF PLASTIC INTO THE OCEAN IN 2010. THE GOVERNMENT RECENTLY PLEDGED TO SPEND USD$1 BILLION A YEAR TO REDUCE ITS PLASTIC POLLUTION BY 70 PERCENT.
KANPUR, INDIA. A GARBAGE TRUCK SITS IDLE IN APPARENT DEFEAT AT THE PANKI LANDFILL, 470 KILOMETERS EAST OF NEW DELHI. INDIA GENERATES 15,342 TONS OF PLASTIC WASTE EACH DAY, OF WHICH 9,205 TONS ARE RECYCLED, ACCORDING TO THE CENTRAL POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD. INDIA IS PROJECTED TO BECOME THE WORLD’S FIFTH-BIGGEST SOURCE OF MARINE PLASTIC WASTE BY 2025.
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA. A MAN RELAXES IN A SEASIDE POOL, NOT FAR FROM A STORM DRAIN DISCHARGING PLASTIC FIBERS INTO THE PACIFIC OCEAN. ACCORDING TO A RECENT STUDY, EVERY WASH OF EVERY SYNTHETIC GARMENT MAY RELEASE AS MANY AS 1900 MICROSCOPIC PLASTIC FIBERS INTO THE WASTEWATER STREAM.
INJA, UGANDA. STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT PET PLASTIC BOTTLES CAN LEACH THE TOXIC MINERAL ANTIMONY IN AMOUNTS THAT EXCEED SAFETY GUIDELINES WHEN EXPOSED TO HIGH TEMPERATURES LIKE A CAR OR OUTDOOR MARKET DURING SUMMERTIME. EXCESS ANTIMONY EFFECTS INCLUDE NAUSEA, VOMITING, AND DIARRHEA. 17 MILLION OIL BARRELS ARE USED TO PRODUCE WATER BOTTLES EACH YEAR.
DAGUPAN, PHILIPPINES. PLASTIC RUBBISH FROM THE CITY LANDFILL HAS DESECRATED A NEARBY CEMETERY. THE PHILIPPINES IS THE WORLD’S THIRD-BIGGEST SOURCE OF MARINE PLASTIC WASTE, AFTER CHINA AND INDONESIA. THE GOVERNMENT HAS CREATED A NATIONAL-LEVEL AUTHORITY TO TACKLE ITS WASTE MANAGEMENT NIGHTMARE.
THE FRONT LINE
DAGUPAN, PHILIPPINES. MAYOR BELEN FERNANDEZ WATCHES THE CITY’S 50 YEAR-OLD DUMP SMOLDER. THE DUMP ROUTINELY SENDS PLASTIC SAILING OUT TO THE SOUTH CHINA SEA. FERNANDEZ HAS VOWED TO RETURN THE BEACH TO ITS PRISTINE FORM AND CONVERT THE MOUNTAIN OF WASTE INTO FUEL TO POWER THE CITY’S FISHING FLEET AND MOTORCYCLE TAXIS.
NEW DELHI. A WORKER SORTS SMALL PIECES OF PLASTIC BY HAND TO SEPARATE THE DIFFERENT POLYMERS FOR RECYCLING. INDIA HAS THE WORLD’S BIGGEST INFORMAL RECYCLING SECTOR.
VILA VELHA, BRAZIL. ZILDA GOMES STRUGGLES WITH A LARGE LOAD OF PLASTIC THAT SHE WILL RECYCLE AT THE COMMUNITY BANK IN EXCHANGE FOR A VOUCHER THAT WILL ALLOW HER TO BUY FOOD AND HOUSEHOLD SUPPLIES.
VIRGINIA, USA. VOLUNTEERS SCOUR THE BEACH ALONG THE BANKS OF THE ELIZABETH RIVER IN PORTSMOUTH, VIRGINIA, FOR PLASTIC DEBRIS. THE RIVER FEEDS INTO CHESAPEAKE BAY, THE LARGEST ESTUARY IN NORTH AMERICA.
KAMPALA, UGANDA. AT THE KITEZI DUMP, THE LARGEST LANDFILL IN UGANDA, WORKERS AT A RECYCLING COMPANY SORT THROUGH TONS OF PLASTIC BOTTLES, SEPARATING THEM BY COLOR. THE OPERATION EMPLOYS ABOUT 40 PEOPLE.
JAKARTA, INDONESIA. PLASTIC IS WEIGHED AT A SMALL RECYCLING CENTER. AN ARCHIPELAGO OF APPROXIMATELY 18,000 ISLANDS, INDONESIA IS THE WORLD’S SECOND-BIGGEST SOURCE OF PLASTIC MARINE WASTE, ACCORDING TO THE OCEAN CONSERVANCY.
KAMPALA, UGANDA. MAKERERE UNIVERSITY STUDENT MASAUSO NDHLOVU MONITORS THE WOOD-FIRED REACTOR HE AND HIS COLLEAGUES HAVE BUILT TO CONVERT PLASTIC WASTE INTO DIESEL FUEL. THEIR GOAL IS TO DEVELOP A SAFE AND AFFORDABLE TOOL THAT CAN HELP LOW-INCOME FAMILIES PROFIT FROM DISCARDED PLASTIC.
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA. VOLUNTEERS FROM THE MANLY COUNCIL’S “LITTER GUARD” SURVEY THE SANDS ON MANLY BEACH IN JANUARY 2017. AN EVALUATION OF THE PROGRAM IN 2014 SHOWED THE AMOUNT OF LITTER INCREASED BY 24 PERCENT WHEN VOLUNTEERS WERE NOT PRESENT ON THE BEACH.
NEW DELHI, INDIA. GROUND-UP PLASTIC WASTE IS WASHED, MELTED, STRETCHED INTO LONG TENDRILS, AND CHOPPED INTO PELLETS AS FEEDSTOCK FOR NEW PRODUCTS — IN THIS CASE ELECTRICAL OUTLET BOXES. THE WORKSHOP IS ONE OF THOUSANDS OF SMALL-SCALE RECYCLING OPERATIONS IN THE CITY.
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA. OFFICIALS PLACED DECALS ALONG THE BOARDWALK AT THE POPULAR COOGEE BEACH TO REMIND BEACHGOERS OF THEIR RESPONSIBILITY TO PREVENT MARINE WASTE AND EDUCATE THEM ON HOW PLASTICS BREAK DOWN IN THE OCEAN. THE DECALS, IN THE SHAPE OF FISH AND MARINE ANIMALS, ARE A NOVEL FORM OF PUBLIC EDUCATION.
DUST AND MICROSCOPIC PLASTIC FIBERS RELEASED FROM AN ACRYLIC BLANKET ARE REFLECTED IN THE SUNLIGHT AND STEAM FROM A COFFEE MUG. SCIENTISTS BELIEVE OTHER PLASTICIZERS AND CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS CAN ABSORB TOXINS PRESENT IN THE HOME, MUCH AS THEY ARE ABSORBED IN WATER.
PLASTIC DUST CAN COME FROM SURFACES INCLUDING CARPETS, CABLES, PAINT, AND VINYL FLOORING, MANY OF THEM MADE WITH PLASTICIZERS THAT CONTAIN ENDOCRINE DISRUPTING CHEMICALS. THESE DUST PARTICLES MAY BE INHALED OR FIND THEIR WAY INTO YOUR BODY THROUGH FOOD AND DRINK LEFT IN OPEN CONTAINERS.