Plastic pollution is a huge problem since it negatively impacts marine and human life and the toxins plastic absorbs and releases move up the food chain.
However, a group of researchers from the University of Hawaii at Manoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) revealed in their latest study yet another potential plastic hazard. Several greenhouse gases, including methane , are emitted as plastics degrade in the environment.
The study found that some of the most used plastics under sunlight release methane and ethylene in the atmosphere. The amounts of gases released are small. However, the astonishing amount of plastic waste could still contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change over time.
The discovery was accidental. The leader of the team, Dr. Sarah-Jeanne Royer, was not studying plastics. Instead, she was measuring the amount of methane produced by biological organisms. However, she found that the plastic bottle that was holding the samples was releasing more methane than the organisms themselves.
After the accidental discovery, the research team tested polycarbonate, acrylic, polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polystyrene, high-density polyethylene and low-density polyethylene (LDPE). These materials are used commonly in food packaging, textile, and other plastic goods. Polyethylene, the most popular material out of plastics, was releasing the biggest amounts of greenhouse gases.
Additionally, they found out that the longer the LDPE is exposed to sunlight, the greater the emissions from it. After being exposed to sunlight for 212 days, the material’s emission increased by 176 times. The reason for this is the fact the LDPE breaks down under sunlight, exposing more plastic area to the sun. Once the process begins, the emission doesn’t even stop when there is no sun.
Royer and her team are now working on measuring the amount of plastic exposed to sun globally so they can calculate its contribution to climate change, and on possible solutions of the problem.
[Via EcoWatch]
Must we also see a guy in revealing women’s clothing? What is the point of that?
I really wish they could find replacements for the plastic containers and wrapping film used for food, that’s probably the most plastic I consume, I use metal or glass or paper as much as I can.
But even then, it is likely that this new material will be made out of vegetable oil rather than petrol, so it will probably still be methane-emitting plastic of a kind. I wonder why fruits are still sold in plastic containers. They could attach them to trees, for instance, so we would be picking up fruits from the trees as we need them. Or they could staple them to bushes so it would be easier for smaller kids to pick up raspberries and blackberries. Or they could lay berries on the ground on a bed of straw for the really small kids. Hmm, I wonder how we could call these berries on straw…