Breaking Down Recycling and Microplastics - Ten News Deep Dive ♻️
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A Ten News Deep Dive: Episode 541
♻️ Did you know toys are a major source of plastic waste in landfills? Nature Nerds' Ms. Laine explains how companies like LEGO and Mattel are tackling this issue with recycling and sustainability.
🧐 What are microplastics? Ryan and Pam break down what they are, where they come from, and how we can reduce the daily use of plastics.
🌎 Plus, glass bottles are safer for human use and the planet. But, do you know its recyclability!?
Resources
https://www.globalplastictreaty.com/faqs
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Transcript:
EVERETT: Ooooh, this is a good one. I think I know the answer…I’m curious about D, using your pinky, because I’ve never tried that…but I’m going to guess: C.
OWEN: The answer is…C! Turning off the colors on your device so it’s gray scaled, is an effective way to regulate your screen time. Our eyes are generally attracted to bright and shiny things, so when you go grayscale it makes it much less attractive and fun. Even boring.
EVERETT: Notifications and sounds are also ways devices can get your attention, so I like to have them turned off.
RYAN: And the brightness on your device can make it hard to fall asleep, so it’s good to turn it down or into night mode at least an hour before bed, or when the sun goes down.
OWEN: I haven’t tried the pinky method, which I just made up. <SFX YAWNS> I might give it a go after that nap…
EVERETT: Great idea, thank you for having me!
OWEN: Thank you for stopping by!
INT. TEN NEWS STUDIO
INT. TEN NEWS STUDIO
<SFX door opens>
RYAN: But Pam…I don’t want to spring clean… I could be doing my Rubik’s cube blindfolded.
PAM: Ry, you haven’t solved it with your eyes... Why would you be able to do it with a blindfold on?
RYAN: When I don’t look at my problems, they go away.
<SFX opens closet door>
PAM: Oh dear.
<SFX a couple cricks of a pile of junk that’s been stuffed in the closet right into…> <SFX avalanche of STUFF comes down on Ryan>
RYAN: (MUFFLED) I’m good, I’m good!
PAM: So you didn’t look in that closet for a long time, and all your junk just came barreling down on you…
RYAN: Yeah see, it’s not a problem. I found my snowball maker. My wetsuit in case I want to start surfing this summer…
PAM: Why do you have a taco costume…?
RYAN: I get a discount on Taco Tuesdays when I rock that. I gotta find a place for all this great stuff.
PAM: No Ry, we’re spring cleaning–we gotta keep, toss or recycle everything.
RYAN: Even the box my iPhone came in?
PAM: Especially that.
RYAN: Oh wait… Earth Day is around the corner! I gotta clean my act up. ASAP.
PAM: It’s never too late to start! I’m Pamela Kirkland, it’s Friday April 18th.
RYAN: And I’m Ryan Willard. This is a Ten News Deep Dive.
INT. TEN NEWS STUDIO - DAY
NAOMI: You can’t recycle that, Owen. You need to rinse the jar out before you can recycle it–
OWEN: Naomi. I gave it a rinse, it’s fine!
NAOMI: No, it has to be cleaned out–
OWEN: Hey Ryan, do you think this needs to be more clean before I recycle it…?
RYAN: Ummmm, if I have to clean it, I think it’s fine? But if you’re gonna clean it, I think you should definitely clean it, more…? Or maybe you should ask everyone’s favorite Nature Nerd… MS LAINE!
OWEN: I’m just gonna recycle it–
NAOMI: You can’t just recycle it–
LAINE SEGMENT
PAM: You’re doing good, Ry, keep up the cleaning!
RYAN: And next up is…oh no… it’s my water bottle closet.
PAM: Your… what?
RYAN: Ummmmm, well… <SFX opens closet> <SFX 150 water bottles spill out>
PAM: Really not sure what else I was expecting…Ry, that is a LOT of plastic bottles.
RYAN: Yeah, I’m a hydrated individual, thank you for noticing.
PAM: No, that’s a lot to recycle, but also… I think you might want to watch your plastic usage.
RYAN: Why?
PAM: Water bottles aren’t that great for the environment, and they potentially contain a lot of microplastics.
RYAN: Micro ELASTIC? Like tiny rubber bands?
PAM: No, MicroPLASTICS that can get into your blood.
RYAN: Microplastics can get IN my blood. Understood. (a beat) AHHhHhhhhHhhHhhH! <SFX footsteps as he runs around the room screaming>
PAM: RY! Slow down! What do we do when we’re scared about something?
RYAN: (Panting) Ummm, ignore it and wait for it to go away?
PAM: Nope. We learn as much as we can and talk about it, remember?
RYAN: (Deep breath) Okay. So then, can we do… 5 things to know about microplastics?
PAM: Yes, yes we can! First and foremost… 1) Do you know what microplastics are exactly?
RYAN: Yeah… Microplastics are fragments of plastic up to 5 millimeters long. They become micro, or, incredibly tiny because plastic isn’t biodegradable… biodegradable means something can be broken down or decomposed by bacteria or other living organisms. Like, an orange peel. If you throw an orange peel on the ground, either an organism will eat it or several months later it will naturally break down into the ground. Plastics were made by humans, and it never actually goes away. Plastic just breaks down into smaller and smaller particles. Aka Microplastics.
PAM: That’s exactly right!
RYAN: But where do microplastics primarily come from?
PAM: Microplastics come in various forms, primary microplastics are intentionally small plastic particles, like plastic glitter, or microbeads used in cosmetics or from microfibers, which come off of some clothing during a washing. Secondary microplastics come from the breakdown of larger plastic items… such as plastic garbage when it’s exposed to the environment and weather for long enough. And then there are nanoplastics which are even smaller and harder to detect and study. But one study in the Alps found that nanoplastic particles from vehicle tires are polluting the famous mountains.
RYAN: Okay, but then, how do they get in our bodies?! I don’t generally eat glitter, but it has happened and I’m not proud of it.
PAM: Well because microplastics have spread into our environment, we can consume them…There are a lot of microplastics in the ocean, which are then ingested by marine life, which some of us eat…that’s seafood. And studies have shown the presence of microplastics in common food products, like beverages or even water bottles. As well as plant-based foods and even salt, sugar and honey.
RYAN: Oh my gosh, so they’re like, everywhere… but how do they affect our bodies when they get inside of us? Because the bigger particles we ingest are supposed to pass through our gut and exit when we go to the bathroom, right? And our respiratory system will filter some of them out too…
PAM: That’s right, but we’re unsure about the smaller pieces. A team of scientists in the Netherlands were the first to detect microplastic in the blood, several years ago. Normally enzymes in our body clean up stuff we don’t want in there, but aren’t able to do much about microplastics. So it can be an opponent for your immune system, and we don’t really know what will happen to the microplastics or how much they’ll build up.
RYAN: So can microplastics hurt us right now?
PAM: We’re not fully sure yet, there’s a lot of research being done around the world, so we can get ahead of microplastics.
RYAN: While they’re figuring it out, what can we do in the meantime?
PAM: The Global Plastics Treaty is an international agreement currently being negotiated by around 175 countries to end plastic pollution at every stage of its lifecycle, from when it’s made to when it’s thrown away. It aims to reduce plastic waste and enhance recycling. And at home, we can do simple things like, avoid cooking with plastic, or heating up plastic containers. You can use a stainless steel mug instead of disposable cups, or swap your plastic containers with glass.
RYAN: Okay, I can do those! I think the scary part for me is the unknown, but knowing more about it, and knowing some steps that I can take definitely helps me process. Thanks for helping break things down Pam.
PAM: Of course Ry.
<SFX Trivia Room door opens>
OWEN: Welcome to the Trivia Room–
RYAN: WHOA. Owen, you smell like, hot garbage my dude. Are you okay? Are you having a fart attack?
OWEN: No, I just got back from a garbage dump, just helping save the planet one re-assembled Barbie at a time.
RYAN: Ohh well that’s amazing. Do you have some recycling related trivia for me?
OWEN: I absolutely do… Step right up to the Trivia Throne…
OWEN: Drinking out of a glass bottle is safer for the planet and for our bodies, to avoid using plastic. Glass is a recyclable material, but how many times can a glass bottle be recycled? Is it…
1 time
50 times…
100 times
An infinite amount of times?
<SFX 5 second clock tick>
OWEN: Did ya get it? The answer is D, glass can be recycled endlessly without loss of quality.
RYAN: That means the glass jar that you have now can be used to make a new glass product that’s as good as new!
OWEN: Each year, about 2.4 million tons of recycled glass are used to make new bottles and jars. 2.4 million tons is 5,291,094,292 pounds!
RYAN: Imagine having that many of anything!
OWEN: What about 5 billion butterfl-
RYAN: NOPE NOPE NOPE. Not today! I need happy things.
OWEN: For every six tons of recycled glass in manufacturing, we can reduce one ton of carbon dioxide emissions. Happy enough for you?
RYAN: Good save, Owen. Thanks for the trivia, I can’t wait to share with Pam!
INT. TEN NEWS STUDIO
PAM: Feeling better, Ryan?
RYAN: Yesss, I’m no longer panicking and trying to do little things to help reduce my plastic use… But all this talk about recycling has made me thirsty–
PAM: You did run about 17 laps around the studio, at full speed.
RYAN: And I’ll do it again, once I’m hydrated.
PAM: Here, have a glass of water…
RYAN: <SFX Gulps water> ahhh. Yeah, I’m now refreshed and ready for Ten News Snaps.
PAM: But before that, here’s a quick note for the grownups. [Ad Break]
RYAN: Time for Ten News Snaps!
PAM: On Apple Podcasts, a Ten’er name Marlowe left us a 5 star review, thank you Marlowe! What a cool name you have. And a Ten’er named Rick Riordan Fan said, “This is my go-to news source - btw this is Tupelo I was on the Election Day takeover.” Ahhh Tupelo, so nice to hear from you, I also love your name and love the job you did on that election special!
RYAN: Marlowe, awesome name. Tupelo also an awesome name but just a reminder Tupelo, stop trying to take my job. You gotta finish school and I need this job. Thanks. But I might need you to fill in for me the day the Switch 2 comes out because I’m NOT COMING IN THAT DAY!
PAM: And two extra notes for the grown-ups, you can now get ad-free versions of our episodes when you join the Ten’ers Club on our website.
RYAN: And if you want to help support the Ten News, you can make a tax-deductible donation at the link in our show notes. The whole team thanks you for your support!
PAM: “The Ten News” is a co-production of Small But Mighty Media and Next Chapter Podcasts and part of the Airwave Podcast Network.
RYAN: The Ten News creative team is going thrift shopping and includes Tracey Not a Crooks, Adam the Great Bambino Bernard, Brian Not Ryan Douglas and Carson Not So Harry Potter. Big thanks to Owen, Not Slowin Down for Anybody.
PAM: Our Production Director is Jeremiah “On Fyaah” Tittle, and our Executive Producers are Donald “Albright Albright Albright” and show creator Tracy “Takes the” Leeds Kaplan. I’m Pamela Kirkland.
RYAN: And I’m Ryan Willard, thanks for listening to the Ten News.
