Ep 10. Why Were Plastic Mirobeads Banned? Marine Debris and Sustainable Plastics

Sustainable Nano

Plastic debris in our water is a huge pollution problem, and just one source of that pollution is the tiny microbeads that have been widely used in personal care products. In this episode of the podcast, we interview Dr. Richard Thompson, a Professor of Marine Biology at Plymouth University and an expert on the effects of plastic debris in the marine environment. We discuss the recent federal ban on microbeads and what consumers can do to be more sustainable in our day-to-day use of plastics.

Plastic microbeads (image by MPCA photos)

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ABOUT THIS EPISODE

Related links :

• Marine Debris: Are There Solutions to this Global Environmental Problem? - video of a presentation by Dr. Thompson at the Global Wave Conference
• H.R.1321 - Microbead-Free Waters Act of 2015
• Ban on Microbeads Proves Easy to Pass Through Pipeline, by John Schwartz. New York Times, Dec 22, 2015
• [Scientists Now Know Why Some Seabirds Eat So Much Plastic] (http://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/11/plastics-in-the-ocean-smell-like-food-to-seabirds/507092/), by Ed Yong. The Atlantic, Nov 9, 2016
• Plastic Island: How our throwaway culture is turning paradise into a graveyard, by Nick Paton Walsh, Ingrid Formanek, Jackson Loo and Mark Phillips. CNN.com, 2016.
• Oct 11, 2016: Covestro Lecture in Sustainability: Plastic Debris in
  the Ocean
• Center for Sustainable Polymers
• Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology

Interviewee: Prof. Richard
Thompson

Producers/Narrators: Miriam Krause and Stephanie Mitchell

Music source: Music by Ketsa