“I want to say one word to you. Just one word. Are you listening? Plastics. There’s a great future in plastics. Think about it.”
~Advice by Mr. McGuire to Benjamin in the 1968 film The Graduate
Actually, by 1968 attitudes toward plastics had become negative in the USA. Mr. McGuire’s advice is an example of the classic “bad” advice you can get at your college graduation party from a big-shot (in their own mind) relative or friend. Plastics had gone from a way to save elephants to the cheap, tacky material permeating the American economy. They just didn’t know how bad plastics might be for our bodies or the environment at that time.
Plastics are no longer a joking matter as plastic bottles seem to have created a situation where the water we drink to sustain ourselves also harms us. Indeed, massive research is currently being done to try to assess how much harm can be caused to people who drink from plastic bottles.
Nobody can say conclusively, yet, that the hundreds of thousands of microplastics and nanoplastics we have been drinking daily are hurting us, but many of the signs point that way. At this point, you might want to stop drinking anything that comes from plastic as well as avoiding foods wrapped or stored in plastic. Now. Immediately.
If reports come back in several months that microplastics and nanoplastics are benign (few researchers seem to think this will happen), you can start drinking from plastic containers again. A very recent report out of China, dealing with an experiment involving fruit flies, stated that microplastic exposure may be a real threat to the lifespan of organisms.
Some background: Why plastics?
In the mid-1800s folks really enjoyed playing billiards. The billiard balls were made from elephant ivory. By the 1860s, however, elephants had been hunted to the point where extinction was feared and there was no longer thought to be enough ivory to meet the billiard ball demand. The first plastic was created to make non-ivory billiard balls.
The first plastic was actually a “natural” plastic made from plant cellulose (the material in cell walls). The key to a plastic is polymers – long strands of repeating molecules. An inventor took natural plant polymers and combined them with alcohol and resin to create a moldable material that became the first plastic billiard ball.
In the early 20th century “synthetic” polymers could be made using carbon atoms taken from crude oil. These synthetic polymers were longer and in sequences which made them strong and flexible. The creation of synthetic plastic was a monumental, game-changing breakthrough for the manufacturing sector.
We could now go beyond what nature provided for us in regard to the raw materials of manufacturing and create unlimited supplies of materials that could take the place of stone, wood, glass, metals etc. For the first time, the extent of human manufacturing was not determined by the limits of what existed or could be grown in nature. Many folks thought plastics might be a boon to nature in this regard.
It turns out Mr. McGuire was about 30 years too late, however, in his advice, as making really big money from plastic first became possible during World War II. Metals became precious to the war effort, and if plastic could be used in lieu of some of them, it freed up essential resources. Polyethylene and Nylon were invented just before American involvement in World War II and served us well in the war effort.
Here are a few of the uses of plastic by the US military in World War II: Acrylic and Plexiglas were often used for glass in airplane canopies and bomber “noses” as they could be made stronger than glass and were also transparent. Nylon was used in parachutes and ropes. Plastic wrap covered rifles to ensure they would not suffer from moisture. Tires could now be made of synthetic rubber. Polyethylene was used to insulate wiring. Plastics could be made into eyeglasses. Helmet liners were often made of plastics. Plastic buttons even replaced metal buttons as metals were so valuable. Production of plastics rose over 300% during World War II in the USA.
By the 1950s and 1960s, plastics had started to become a common feature in everyday life. We get cheap and strong plastic disposable bags at this time. Tupperware becomes ubiquitous and vinyl records appeared just in time for the rock and roll revolution. Plastics became essential for industries involving packaging, construction and consumer goods.
Yet, in the 1960s, scientists from the National Academy of Sciences discovered that more than 100 million tons of waste had been dumped in our oceans. This ultimately led to the realization that much of this waste was plastic and that plastic does not go away, but breaks up into microplastics and even smaller particles called nanoparticles or nanoplastics. In the 1970s scientists first discovered that seabirds were inadvertently consuming microplastics and that seals and other creatures were getting tangled up in plastic netting.
Research in the 80s and 90s further corroborated the adverse effects of plastic debris in marine environments as plastic waste generation tripled. In the 2000s the Great Pacific Garbage Patch was discovered in the northern part of the Pacific Ocean – a swirling area of plastic debris twice the size of the state of Texas. It is estimated it would cost $8 billion dollars to clean it up. There are actually three garbage patches in the Pacific now.
The first significant scientific report highlighting the presence of microplastics and nanoplastics in bottled water was published in 2018. Researchers discovered that 93% of bottled water samples from over 10 brands spread across 9 countries contained microplastics undetectable by the human eye. More recently, a study published on January 8, 2024, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, revealed that one liter of bottled water contained an average of 240,000 invisible particles, 90% being the very smallest nanoplastics.
Personal Reasons Against Drinking Water from Plastic Bottles
It is now beyond dispute that these tiny plastic particles are entering cells of the human body and cross the blood-brain barrier. Researchers are predicting health issues such as oxidative stress, immune system dysregulation and changes in blood fat levels. Some laboratory experiments suggest microplastics increase brain inflammation and cell damage, alter gene expression and even change brain structure. Microplastics seem to linger and build up in the brain compared to the liver and kidneys.
Very harmful chemicals like Bisphenol A (BPA) and Phthalates can “leach” into the water from the sides of the plastic bottles. These chemicals are endocrine disruptors and can adversely affect the reproductive system and thyroid function of folks exposed to them.
Environmental Impact
Plastic bottles contribute horrifically to environmental pollution. Many bottles wind up in oceans and landfills harming marine life and entire ecosystems. The production of these bottles also contributes to carbon emissions.
Unbelievably, only about 9% of plastic bottles are recycled appropriately, leading to mounting waste and degradation of the environment. The recycling process is often inefficient and leads to unnecessary uses of energy.
You Can Definitely Do Something to Save Yourself and the Environment
By not using plastic bottles unless they are proved to be safe, we can put pressure on the plastic water bottle industry to change. Enough is enough. Personally, I am outraged at the negative environmental and personal impact of these bottles. This may soon become a major health problem for our nation and the world. I think we are in deep denial in regard to this problem.
Alternatives like filtered tap water and glass bottled delivery of water might be more sustainable choices in the long run. Frankly, I do not understand why the filter and glass bottle companies are not stepping forward to help us and make a tidy profit. Hey capitalists, my name is McGuire. I have just two terms for you. Are you listening? Filters and glass bottles. Great future in this!
Yes, water filters can help.
Reverse Osmosis (RO) Systems remove contaminants including heavy metals, pesticides and certain chemicals like PFAS, which are linked to cancer.
Activated Carbon Filters remove chlorine, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and some pesticides. They come in pitcher, countertop, and faucet-mounted filters.
Multi-Stage Filters mix different methods, such as activated carbon, ion exchange, and mechanical filtration, to catch a broader range of contaminants.
Using a combination of filters improves the healthfulness of your drinking water. Please assess your home tap water and research the filter you may need.
Opting for water delivery in large glass bottles seems, however, to be the best choice to me, especially since I am concerned about the safety of tap water as well as the potential health risks associated with plastic bottles. You do not have to worry about the leaching of chemicals into water if you use glass. The water remains free from contaminants.
Glass is also much more environmentally friendly than plastic. It can be reused easily and is fully recyclable. Using glass reduces plastic waste. It is frustrating and more than a bit angering to think that “fresh” water providers chose plastic containers for the sake of mere convenience and profit, perhaps even aware of the waste problems plastics might cause.
Finally, water tastes much better coming from a glass container. Glass does not absorb odors or flavors. Your water from a glass container will taste fresh.
Conclusion
Yes, I’m a movie junkie. There’s an early William Wyler film from 1929 called Hell’s Heroes. A guy needs to get a dehydrated and starving baby to a nearby town from deep in the desert. They are out of water. His two companions kill themselves so the baby may have their water. He finds a well and drinks water labeled as polluted by arsenic because he knows that although it will ultimately kill him, it will also give him the time he needs to save the life of the baby.
Although this is an extreme metaphor, this may be an apt metaphor for us if we do not start to put pressure on the plastic bottle companies to do something to protect our health, or if we do not do something ourselves to save ourselves.
Given all of the research and predictions, due to cancer causing agents in tap water and microplastics in the water we drink from plastic bottles, we may be consuming water which is partly killing us while sustaining us. This is a situation which does NOT have to exist.
During the recent Olympics I watched athlete after athlete, covered with sweat, finish a competition and walk over to a seat where they twisted off the top of a plastic water bottle to consume about 200,000 particles of nanoplastics along with the sustaining water. The reports on nanoplastics are starting to flood in, but we are in serious denial about them. Don’t be. Switch to bottled water, buy a filter. Do something.
Source material and suggested reading:
Plastic particles in bottled water | National Institutes of Health (NIH)
How Plastic was Crucial to the War Effort | Blog | Solent Plastics
Microplastics are in our brains. How worried should I be? (theconversation.com)
The truth about nanoplastics in bottled water | UCLA Health
History and Future of Plastics | Science History Institute
Hell’s Heroes (1929) (youtube.com)
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This Post is republished on Medium.
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Photo credit: iStock
