Open AccessMicroplastics release from victuals packaging materials during daily usage
Author(s) -
Guan QingFang,
Yang HuaiBin,
Zhao YuXiang,
Han ZiMeng,
Ling ZhangChi,
Yang KunPeng,
Yin ChongHan,
Yu ShuHong
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
ecomat
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2567-3173
DOI - 10.1002/eom2.12107
Subject(s) - microplastics , expanded polystyrene , environmental science , polystyrene , human health , waste management , materials science , polymer , environmental chemistry , chemistry , composite material , engineering , environmental health , medicine
Plastic packaging materials are widely used because of their advantages of light weight, low cost, and convenience, especially as victuals packaging materials. Approximately 146 million metric tons of plastics were used for packaging in 2015, but most of these plastics had already been discarded and followed by serious white pollution. What's worse, the victuals packaging materials, especially polystyrene (PS) foam containers, can release microplastics (MPs) during daily usage. Through the combination of various appropriate chemical (eg, spectroscopy) and physical (eg, microscopy) characterization and analysis, the existence of MPs is proved and MPs can be intuitively observed. Although the impacts of MPs on ecosystems and human health are still under discussion, existing studies have shown that MPs can be integrated into habitats through soil transportation, affecting the health of various terrestrial invertebrates. Faced with this shocking reality, reducing the use of PS foam containers at high temperatures and developing healthy materials to substitute these plastics are promising solutions.