Kickstart: Going beyond the headlines

You've likely seen, or been asked about, the study that made headlines about microplastics being found in human blood and tissues. It has, as expected, drawn a lot of attention.

The study from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in the Netherlands found microplastics in the blood in 80 percent of people tested. Researchers said they tested 22 people and found PET particles in 50 percent of people tested and polystyrene in a little more than one in three. Obviously, a study with 22 people is very small, but it's also obvious that microplastics shouldn't be there.

This is all a very complex issue, one that is impossible to sum up in one blog, especially one not written by a scientist. Assistant Managing Editor Steve Toloken has been doing his best to follow what's happening, though, and notes that the study is adding fuel to demands that the United Nations look seriously at microplastics.

Vera Slaveykova, president of the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Switzerland's University of Geneva, told a U.N. webinar that the study does not prove harm but does have worrisome implications.

"This does not mean that it could have some effect, but it's a clear suggestion that the microplastics can pass the biological barriers and can travel around the body," she said.

You can read more about the U.N. discussion on microplastics here and catch more about Steve's thoughts on the topic and other public policy issues by watching the replay of PN's Plastics in Politics livestream discussion that took place April 12.

In 2020, almost everyone wanted to know where they could find clear plastic sheet for barriers at stores and workplaces. While the pandemic may not be over, a lot of places are taking down those barriers and people are asking, "What do I do with these now?"

As PN's Catherine Kavanaugh writes, the same companies that sold sheet and film are now trying to reach out to customers to let them know those materials can be recycled. Groups like the International Association of Plastics Distribution are working to set up collection systems.

"I think the plastics industry as a whole needs to raise awareness that these products don't belong in a dumpster. They are indeed recyclable if they reach the correct point of the supply chain," Joey McCabe, vice president of Faulkner Plastics Inc. in Hialeah, Fla., told Cathy.

Sustainability and staycation gardens are uniting in a trend popping up on social media feeds: converting high density polyethylene gallon jugs into mini-greenhouses to start your seeds.

The concept has been around for about 10 years, but it has been gaining attention since the start of the pandemic. The idea is simple: Clean out a gallon jug, cut an opening on the top, add some drainage holes, fill the bottom with good soil, water well, plant your seeds, tape the top back on and place in the sun.

You can watch a quick tutorial from Michigan State University for more details. The milk jug greenhouses also are being used to show children how to grow vegetables, such as a program in Albany, N.Y., schools.