Скачать или смотреть What are microplastics?

Microplastics are small pieces of plastic, no larger than 5mm, found everywhere — from the Arctic to tropical oceans, to the middle of deserts. They are present in soil, water, ice, the air we breathe, and even the food we eat! They can release harmful chemicals and harm wildlife, but we can help by reducing plastic waste and making more sustainable choices!

Learn more: https://www.canada.ca/zero-plastic-waste


* * * * Transcript * * * * *

Plastic pollution comes in many shapes and sizes, from big things, like lost fishing nets, to teeny pieces that you can’t even see!
Microplastics are small pieces of plastic, no bigger than 5mm in size.
And they can be found, just about everywhere: from the Arctic, to tropical oceans, to the middle of deserts.
They are in the soil, water and ice, in the air we breathe, and even in the food we eat!
Ick!
Just one of these teensy bits of plastic might not look like a big deal, but there are more than one hundred trillion of them.
And so many really small things, can add up to a really big problem.
Microplastics can release harmful chemicals, that make their way into nature and wildlife.
And many small animals eat microplastics, which can cause them to get sick, and even die.
There are two kinds of microplastics.
The most common comes from larger items like water bottles and plastic bags, which have broken down into little pieces over time.
This includes microfibers, which are teeny pieces of plastic threads, such as nylon or polyester, that are used to make many ropes and fabrics.
These fabrics are in a lot of things we use every day like carpets, shoes, and clothes.
And when washed, polyester clothing can release 700,000 of these tiny plastic fibers!
The other kind of microplastics are those that were made to be very small to start with, like microbeads.
While some countries, like Canada, have banned microbeads from things like hand soaps, and toothpastes.
Around the world, they are found in many beauty products fertilisers, cleaners and much more.
This plastic pollution goes into the environment, where it can last for thousands of years!
But you and I, we can help.
We can’t get all the microplastics back out of nature, but we can stop adding more.
We can refuse, reduce, reuse and recycle: by saying “no thanks” to single-use plastics, reusing things instead of throwing them out, and picking up plastic litter when we see it.
Every action counts.
And lots of little actions, like these, can add up to a really big difference.