The US generates more plastic waste than any other country. In Fact, according to the Smithsonian, we produced over 40 million metric tons of it. Microplastics come from plastic debris that was littered and exposed to environmental factors. Once broken down, it makes its way into the air, water, and food we ingest. Animals of all kinds mistake it for food making the animal products we buy have microplastics as well. Ocean Conservatory said that “99% of fish they studied had at least one particle present”. Ew. Recently, scientists and researchers have found microplastics in human blood as well. An analysis in 2019, according to Greenwire, stated that humans consume about a credit card worth of microplastics each week. So what do we do to combat this? Use less plastic! (Duh!) One major source of plastic waste is our personal care/beauty products. Trying to live plastic-free is hard when I have a mass amount of body lotions, creams, and serums that are unused. So, I decided that it would be the lesser of two evils if I just used all that I had first, but really used it all. A way that I have been doing it since I can remember is by cutting up all my beauty products with scissors. It is crazy how much product is wasted because when we can’t squeeze out more we throw it away. Although I am not plastic-free yet, even doing this change will help reduce the amount of plastic we use yearly. I attached a picture below.
