The hidden crisis of microplastics and how it affects you
Elana Afrika-Bredenkamp spoke to sustainability champion Fay van Eeden about the hidden crisis of microplastics and how it affects you.
Sustainability champion and food blogger Fay van Eeden joined Elana Afrika-Bredenkamp on The Workzone on Jacaranda FM to share the journey of bringing the Canadian documentary 'The Plastic People' to South Africa.
'The Plastic People'
The Plastic People is a ground-breaking feature documentary that investigates our addiction to plastic and the growing threat of microplastics to human health.
Almost every bit of plastic ever made eventually breaks down into "microplastics."
These microscopic particles drift through the air, float in all bodies of water, and mix into the soil, becoming a permanent part of the environment.
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Now, leading scientists are finding these particles in our bodies: organs, blood, brain tissue, and even the placentas of new mothers.
What is the impact of these invisible invaders on our health? And can anything be done about it?
Acclaimed author and science journalist Ziya Tong takes a personal approach by visiting leading scientists around the world and undergoing experiments in her home, on her food, and on her body, while collaborating with award-winning director Ben Addelman in an urgent call to action for all of us to rethink our relationship with plastic.
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Fay van Eeden brings 'The Plastic People' to South Africa
Partnering with churches and organisations, Van Eeden will host 19 free community screenings nationwide during September to spread the message of this documentary to South Africans.
After seeing the documentary promoted internationally, she negotiated with producers to make it accessible for free screenings across the country.
Her mission is to use the film to spark conversations in schools, churches, and communities about the impact of plastic pollution and to inspire change.
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Van Eeden wants to stress the huge threat plastic use poses to us and the environment.
It's affecting the planet, but also posing a threat to human health.
She wants people to think twice about what they buy and how they use plastic.
Current screenings of 'The Plastic People' in South Africa
Gauteng:
- DRC Stellastraat (Pretoria): 18 September, 18:30
- DRC Skuilkrans (Pretoria): 7 September, 10:30 & 15:30
- DRC Rietfontein-Noord (Pretoria): 26 September, 10:00 & 19:30
- DRC Aan die Berg (Johannesburg): 7 September
- DRC Elspark (Germiston): Date and time to be confirmed
- DRC Kerk tussen die Mielielande (Vereeniging): Date and time to be confirmed
- Excelsus Spring Conference (Pretoria): 17 September, 15:30
Limpopo:
- DRC Naboomspruit: Date and time to be confirmed
Mpumalanga:
- DRC Debruinspark (Ermelo): Date and time to be confirmed
Western Cape:
- DRC Groote Kerk (Cape Town): Date and time to be confirmed
- DRC De Tyger (Tygerberg): Date and time to be confirmed
- DRC Gordon’s Bay: 7 September, 17:30
- DRC Kogelberg (Kleinmond): 7 September, 18:00
- DRC Jeffreys Bay: 26 September, 18:00
- DRC Stellenberg: 4 September, 18:30
- DRC Vredenburg: Date and time to be confirmed (October)
KwaZulu-Natal:
- DRC Krantzkloof: 10 October, time to be confirmed
- DRC Scottburgh: 7 September, 17:00
- DRC Margate: Date and time to be confirmed
Schools and organisations can still get involved
To learn more and get involved, click here!
You can also follow 'The Plastic People' on social media so we can help promote your event:
- Instagram, Facebook, Threads, YouTube: @PlasticPeopleDoc
- Twitter/X: @PlasticPeople_
Facts about plastic
- Over 1.5 billion plastic bottles are bought worldwide every day.
- Two million plastic bags are used every minute on Earth.
- More than 400 million tonnes of plastic are created every year.
- Almost half of all plastic produced goes into single-use items (National Geographic Society, 2023).
- Every molecule of plastic ever created still exists somewhere on Earth, in some stage of degradation. It never goes away; it just breaks down from large to small to microscopic, forever (Rick Smith, PhD; 'Slow Death by Rubber Duck').
- Ten to twenty million metric tonnes of plastic leave the land and enter the ocean each year (Chelsea Rochman, PhD, Ecologist, University of Toronto).
- Microplastics have become part of our planetary cycles – they are in atmospheric currents, the water cycle, and the carbon cycle (Chelsea Rochman, PhD).
- Microplastics are eaten at every level of the food chain (Plastic Soup Foundation, 2023).
- Microplastics have been found throughout the human body – in faeces, placentas, lungs, and even our blood (The Guardian, 2022).
- The GCGV site in Texas is one of the largest plastics manufacturing plants ever built. Every year, it produces literally trillions of polyethene pellets, the building blocks of plastic – and ships them worldwide (ExxonMobil, 2021).
- Formosa Plastics and other industrial plants along the Gulf Coast of Texas dump an average of 5 million gallons of toxic waste every day (Diane Wilson, San Antonio Bay Estuarine Waterkeeper).
- WWII brought modern plastic to the world. During the war, plastics production rose by 300 to 400 percent (Susan Freinkel, 'Plastic: A Toxic Love Story').
- In the 1950s, the plastics industry invented the concept of single-use plastics with the mantra: "'The future of plastics' is in the trash can." A near-infinite new market for plastics was born (Susan Freinkel).
- In the 1970s, governments started talking about banning plastic packaging like Styrofoam used for fast food. In response, the plastic industry began pushing the idea of recycling (Susan Freinkel).
- The plastic industry developed the famous "chasing arrows" logo to show consumers how to recycle. In fact, most plastic is not recyclable. Less than 10% of plastic worldwide ever gets recycled. Most ends up in landfill or in the environment (Susan Freinkel).
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Image: Supplied