Take a look around on a busy day. Parks, offices, cars, backpacks. You'll spot them everywhere: plastic water bottles. They're convenient, sure, but that convenience comes with a cost we don't always see. Reducing plastic bottle use and choosing tap water instead is one of the simplest and most powerful changes we can make for both the planet and our health. Let's start with the environmental side. "Around 117,000 plastic bottles  will have been used by the time you finish re

PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are a large and diverse group of synthetic chemicals that have been widely used for decades. They are found in many everyday products, including water-repellent clothing, food packaging, furniture, and nonstick cookware. These chemicals do not break down in the environment, and once released, they can bioaccumulate for years or even decades, contaminating soil, water, and wildlife for generations unless active measures are taken to r

Cigarettes are among the most littere d items worldwide with an estimated 4.5 trillion cigarette filters entering the environment every year. Cigarettes also make up around two thirds of all litter found in England across 80% of surveyed sites . Despite the prevalence of cigarettes discarded in the environment, filters have rarely been tackled as a source of plastic in efforts to reduce this environmental waste. So why should we be concerned about cigarette filters? Cigarette

We have normalised plastic. We wrap food in it, we drink from it, it sits in every supply chain. Yet the numbers are astonishing. Production has jumped from two million tonnes in 1950 to four hundred and seventy five million tonnes today. Without intervention the world is on track to pass one point two billion tonnes by 2060. Almost all plastic begins as fossil carbon. This links plastic to climate at the root. And less than ten per cent is recycled. The rest accumulates in s

Ben Addelman and Ziya Tong’s Plastic People exposes the problems presented by plastic production and pollution in the world today. Fortunately, there is a glimmer of hope. Some solutions are afloat  in this time of crisis. Rick Smith ( Slow Death by Rubber Duck ) is confident that society can solve pollution problems . Previous generations were exposed to pollutants that ceased to exist once the health costs became clear. Banning certain chemicals improved population health.

As shown in Ben Addelman and Ziya Tong’s Plastic People, national and community-scale decisions and  bans on plastics can be effective. In Rwanda, Juliet Kabera*, Director General of the Rwanda Environment Management Authority, discusses their 2004 nation-wide implementation of an effective plastic carrier bag ban. This was followed by a law against polythene bags in 2008. The next step is curtailing use of other single-use plastic items  including straws, plates and cutlery.

Ben Addelman and Ziya Tong’s evocative documentary Plastic People covers a range of the impacts of plastic pollution on our bodies. Professor Dick Vethaak* states that not only do microplastics affect the health of animals, plants and the environment, but also our own health -  if one component is affected by microplastics, it also affects the health of humans. According to Vethaak, this impact on human health includes a higher probability of cancer development  later in life

Ben Addelman and Ziya Tong’s documentary Plastic People details the many  health problems associated with plastic pollution and exposure . Alongside obesity, inflammatory responses and cancer, plastics potentially contribute to fertility issues due to chemicals leaching out of plastics. This affects both men and women, and by 2045,  a lot of couples may struggle to reproduce naturally , according to Dr Pete Myers*. Even if couples lean towards IVF, plastics used during the pr

In the documentary  Plastic People , Ziya Tong and Ben Addelman describe how we are “ slowly turning into plastic people ,” consuming microplastics in our food and breathing them in from the air. Once within the body, plastics could potentially cause fertility issues, obesity and cancer. Plastic in the body also comes from textiles including toothbrushes, polystyrene containers and non-stick pans. Microplastics are a contaminant different to other types, their physical presen

Ben Addelman and Ziya Tong’s Plastic People covers a range of concerning outcomes resulting from plastic pollution. One of the main concerns is the prevalence of microplastics . Common sources include shedding particles from plastic waste, paint from buildings and boats, and tyre dust from cars and planes. Millions of metric tons of microplastics leave the land each year , some floating and travelling, some breaking down and going up into the atmosphere, some sinking to the b

Ben Addelman and Ziya Tong’s Plastic People is an exposé of the disastrous consequences of plastic pollution . The development of plastic allowed an unprecedented level of material abundance, health and cleanliness alongside 'unlimited capitalist consumption' (Susan Freinkel*). Plastic, created from “molecules never before seen under the sun,” now pollutes the sea, causing the Great Garbage Patch , filling bird carcasses and infiltrating our bloodstream .   With over   1.5 b

Ben Addelman’s Plastic People  is a must-watch documentary offering a chilling exploration of our journey from homo-sapiens to “ homo-plasticus ”, as Dr Sedat Gündoğdu* warns in the film. It exposes the hidden truth about plastic pollution and how it has infiltrated not only the world around us but our bodies too. Co-directed by science journalist Ziya Tong, this compelling film takes us on a journey to discover how   plastic has become tightly knitted into “every aspect an

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If you are thinking of heading out on your daily run, walk or hike, have a read of how the chemicals in your clothing could be affecting...

Clean water is not just about how much you drink...