Writing these blog posts over the course of the semester has truly opened my eyes to the pressing severity of microplastic pollution, and I definitely learned a lot. Beyond writing, I have also made resolutions to do my best to eradicate more of the plastic products in my life while ensuring not to cause more harm intentionally (e.g. accidentally washing your facial cleanser down the drain, microbeads and all).

 

Altough it can be a difficult decision to give up convenience and ease for the sake of environmental awareness and sustainability, it is vital that we remembe who we do these things for: our older selves, our future children (if any) and the generations after that. I hope that we, as a collective community, will keep in mind all the adverse effects of microplastic pollution on marine life, terrestrial life and our own health. Here I would also like to suggest potential spaces for improvement in our little community of environmentally-conscious individuals:

  1. Encouraging recycling of our plastics, papers and other materials. While this definitely needs work from the government as well (currently the local government does not recycle plastics unfortunately), I believe that every one of us have a duty to care deeply for the environment. Perhaps in the future, if some of us end up in the environmental sector of the government, we could do more to bring in technology and processes of plastic recycling to reduce plastic waste.
  2. Banning more single-use plastics and encourage recycable bags. Many of us tend to keep the plastic bags from our grocery trips for the garbage can or to carry other things, but if our neighbour Malaysia was able to implement single-use plastic bag levies, I believe it is achievable for our nation as well. Beyond governmental action, we should also opt for less or no plastic bags at all when we are out and about.

To conclude, the issue of microplastic pollution (and plastic pollution as a whole) is a multi-national one, and I believe it would do good for governments to come together to solve this problem. Sharing of resources and knowledge far surpasses selfish economic gain at the cost of our environment. I hope you enjoyed reading my blog as much as I enjoyed writing it. Even after this semester’s blog, if you still have thoughts about microplastic pollution, it is good to share them with your friends. Afterall, the macroscopic scale of microplastic pollution is enough for us to think of solutions for the future.