The latest report published by the Wildlife Fund WWF revealed that the average person all over the world swallows a credit card-sized amount of plastic, or about five grams, every week.
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The report states that people around the world ingest 102,000 pieces of plastic smaller than 1 millimeter each year. This amount means that we ingest 250 grams of plastic per year.
Emphasizing that small particles in plastic reach our table and stomach through drinking water and foods such as shellfish and salt, the report was prepared by examining the data of 50 studies on the subject.
Marco Lambertini, WWF International Director, said that the results of the research are a source of information for governments. ‘wake up’ emphasizing that he hopes “Immediate action should be taken on a global scale”said. He underlined that plastic not only pollutes the seas and oceans, but also causes great harm to human beings, especially to the ecological system there.
According to the news prepared by the Telegraph, an average of 72 percent of tap water in Europe contains plastic, and there are two plastic particles in every half liter of water.
Although there is no definite information about the long-term harms of oral plastic ingestion to human health, some studies show that plastic intake above a certain level and inhalation of plastic fibers can cause mild inflammation in the respiratory tract. It is stated that the chemicals carried by some plastics can lead to increased sexual dysfunction, infertility and diseases such as genetic mutations and cancer.
According to the newspaper, 7.7 billion plastic water bottles are used in the UK each year, with less than half of them being recycled. This means that 16 million water bottles go to waste every day in the UK.
Source:
telegraph