Change Your World Week Winter 2022 (Archived)

As many of you know, plastic is a HUGE problem in today's world. It plays a part in polluting our waters, landfills, littering on the streets, etc. Debris made of plastic can completely destroy the lives and habitats of local marines life, such as fish, dolphins, sea turtles, and other oceanic creatures. Did you know that plastic can also carry and transport invasive species and lead to toxic chemical contamination with marine ecosystems and food chains? It's crazy to think that this problem has been an ongoing issue for years now. Plastic is a very durable substance, and can actually take up to 1,000 years to degrade NATURALLY. Read that last sentence again... crazy, right? This means within both our waters, and on our land, plastics are not only taking up space, but completely destroying ecosystems.

To start to understand how to make a change, we can take a look at the plastics themselves. Plastics can be considered “degradable” and “non-degradable” based on their chemical properties. This leads to two potential solutions- creating laws and expectations around the chemical makeup of plastics and pushing for more truly biodegradable options and utilizing microbiological techniques to safely break down the plastics that are already contaminating our waters and land. There are multiple ways to utilize microbiology to break down these plastics, all depending on the chemical makeup of the plastics themselves. These ways use bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms to break down both synthetic and natural plastics. One of these ways is through aerobic biodegradation. This uses microorganisms to break down larger organic compounds into smaller compounds- using oxygen. The byproducts of this are carbon dioxide and water. The steps of this process include biodeterioration (oxidative enzymes are released by microorganisms which generate carboxylic acids), biofragmentation (hydrolysis or fragmentation of polymer carbon chains, this is mediated by the biodeterioration), bioassimilation (small hydrocarbon fragments previously released are metabolized by bacteria or by fungi), and mineralization (hydrolysis products within the cell wall are transferred and converted to microbial byproduct, releasing carbon dioxide and water from the cell). Another type is anaerobic biodegradation, anaerobic we know to mean without the use of oxygen. Here bacteria use substances like iron, manganese, CO2, or nitrate as an electron acceptor instead of oxygen. They do so to break down the larger organic compounds into smaller ones (sciencedirect.com).

The top reason Americans say they don't recycle regularly is a lack of convenient access. Then there's the fact that items put in recycling aren't always recycled. It's common for recyclables to get contaminated by dirty or improperly sorted items, which can ruin the entire load.

So, what can we do?

It all comes down to awareness, action, and accountability

Awareness:

We can first spread the word about the problem of plastic pollution, and the ways to fix it. If more people understand how plastic pollution effects our environment, our ecosystems, and our future- than more people can be part of the fight to fix it! Knowledge is power! And it is key to getting the funding, systems, and daily actions to make the change we need to fix the plastic pollution problem.

Action:

The next step is to take action. Bioremediation of plastics isn’t as simple as saying yes to allowing a type of microorganism into our waters or landfills. A lot of the problem here is that waste isn’t always categorized. Different types of plastics are often mixed in with other kinds of waste, debris, and even sometimes toxic biohazards. Us being able to separate these plastics up would best help us to the eliminate them safely and effectively with the use of bioremediation.

Another complication is we can’t yet say which exact microorganisms work best for remediating which types of plastics. Funding programs to test different bioremediation techniques would lead us to better understand which microbes to use in which circumstances. To get the most “bang for your buck” if you will. We need to reach out to local, state, and even national governments to help fund this scientific advancement to clean up our waters, land, and create better ecosystems for the future of our planet.

How can you specifically take action?

1. Pledge to reduce, reuse, and recycle plastics:

This will help us minimize and reorganize waste to, hopefully, bioremediate it in the future. Organizing plastics will keep it out of landfills, out of our waters, and off our streets. When we can differentiate plastics by type, we can then utilize microbes to safely decompose these plastics and keep them out of our ecosystems.

2. Reach out to your state and local government, and be an advocate for the importance of bioremediation of plastics:

Change only comes when people demand it. We need to focus our sciences toward fixing the problems we contribute to every day. Utilizing bioremediation can be a clean and effective way to eliminate plastic waste instead of being handled in other dangerous ways like burning, which can lead to even more hash biproducts in the form of microplastics that can pollute our environment, and even be breathed into our lungs. Email your local senator and speak on what you’ve learned here today to create a real change for the future of plastic waste in our environment!

Find YOUR senator here: https://www.senate.michigan.gov/fysbyaddress.html

3. Join the Michigan Recycling Coalition (MRC) and help us contact them about the importance of bioremediation to eliminate plastics in the state of Michigan:

As they best say it “The Michigan Recycling Coalition (MRC) represents recycling and composting interests statewide. The MRC is a recognized authority on waste reduction, beneficial utilization, recycling, and composting through the experience of its staff and committees.” They are creating awareness and action around recycling in the state of Michigan, and with your help we can all create awareness around the potentials within bioremediation for our landfills, the great lakes, and our local waters.

Follow the links below to reach out to

Contact the MRC about the potentials of bioremediation:

                                     https://michiganrecycles.org/contact/

And to JOIN MRC, and find other ways to get involved through events, programs, and advocacy options to help minimize and eliminate plastic waste:

                                       https://michiganrecycles.org/

Accountability:

Plastic pollution didn’t start with our generation, but maybe it can end with it! If we spread the word, reach out to our representatives, and support funding into sciences of bioremediation we may be able to cut down plastic waste that would otherwise take 1000 years on its own! So hold yourself accountable to what you’ve learned here. Clean up your beaches, streets, and your community when you see plastic waste. And hold your friends and family accountable to the same standards.

We can be the change we want to see in our environment- demand change, today!

Republic Services, Inc. (2019, September 26). Republic Services Launches Recycling Simplified Education Program For Grades Pre-K Through 12. Republic Services Launches Recycling Simplified Education Program For Grades Pre-K Through 12. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/republic-services-launches-recycling-simplified-education-program-for-grades-pre-k-through-12-300925977.html

Technology Networks. (2021, April 7). Biodegradation of Synthetic Plastic in the Marine Habitat. Applied Sciences from Technology Networks. https://www.technologynetworks.com/applied-sciences/articles/biodegradation-of-synthetic-plastic-in-the-marine-habitat-347432

Zeenat, A., Elahi, D., Bukhari, S., & Shamim, A. (2021, July 15). Plastics degradation by microbes: A sustainable approach. Retrieved February 08, 2022, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1018364721001993

Morgan, B. (2021, December 10). Why Is It So Hard To Recycle? Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/blakemorgan/2021/04/21/why-is-it-so-hard-to-recycle/?sh=6782c23e3b77

Balan, A. (2022, March 17). Reduce Single-Use Plastics