a few miles downstream of the united states’ largest semiconductor fabrication plant project in history, researchers are using paper waste to power a device to detect pfas in wastewater.

the shovels have already hit the ground on the semiconductor facility, marking the start of a nearly 20-year-long construction project for micron technologies’ megafab facility in clay, new york. the four semiconductor “fab” facilities will be responsible for outputting more than 30 million gallons of wastewater everyday to be treated by oak orchard wastewater treatment plant. 

“pfas” are a group of long-lasting chemicals used in many industrial processes and are vital to etching and coating the intricacies of micron’s small, integrated circuits. pfas can cause harm to reproductive health, adolescent development, and cancer. there are over 15,000 different types of pfas, some of which are what experts call “short-chain” or “long-chain” forms. recent legislation has focused more attention on the long-chain types rather than the more common short-chain ones. 

researchers at the leem lab in upstate new york are working to develop improved detection methods for “harder-to-detect” forms of pfas. the detection device uses lignin, a waste product from paper manufacturing processes, which the researchers say has the potential to be used by micron technologies.

new york-based astronomers, including columbia university’s astronomy public outreach (capo) program, are making astronomy more accessible through their telescopes and their community initiatives. 

observation in new york city has unique challenges, one of the largest being the artificial light, or light pollution, that comes from constant activity in the city. lecturer, outreach coordinator, and astronomy faculty member amanda quirk said that observing the universe in new york city is difficult and during capo’s outreach events they look for the brightest objects in the sky like saturn, jupiter and polaris. 

drowning out the stars isn’t the only downside of light pollution. the phenomena has been found to affect human health and wildlife behavior.

“anywhere you have a telescope, you’re always going to [need to] build telescopes away from other light sources, away from cities, observing during the night, not during the day,” quirk said. “these problems exist for astronomers around the world. in new york city they’re just amplified.”

building a community of star-gazers

on a clear winter night on columbia university’s campus, interested parties of all ages file into the sciences building to listen to a lecture on astronomy and then observe the night sky using columbia’s telescopes. the voices of young children and older people intertwine as they wait for astronomy ph.d. student and astronomy outreach coordinator jennifer mead to begin her lecture.

in front of mead are various tools. one is a refraction paper that is handed out by mead to each of the attendees of her lecture. when held up to the light, the paper demonstrates how light bends through different lenses like plastic, glass or even space. 

sounds of joy erupt from the audience as they see small rainbows dance across the refraction paper.

“it speaks to a lot of people’s inner child. space is one of those things that across space and time, across the earth, across the whole history of humanity, people have connected over,” mead said. “it’s one of the most accessible sciences in terms of being able to look up and wonder about the biggest questions like, ‘where did we come from?’” 

columbia astronomy public outreach is part of the outreach, teaching, and research activities of the department of astronomy at columbia university. the crowd in columbia’s lecture hall makes it clear that capo’s audience is a range of passionate individuals and excited community members ready to listen and participate in the free information session about space. 

led by columbia’s astronomy students and faculty, the program attempts to capture the same wonder that drew columbia’s astronomy students towards their field. mead also said she wants capo’s outreach program to educate the public on bringing science to people who would not otherwise interact with it. 

“it’s also for the purpose of educating the public on what science is. what does it mean to be a scientist? what does it look like to do science? which i think is actually extremely critical, and something that the public is not super well connected with,” said mead.

but local public awareness is an ongoing issue according to quirk. those interested in capo’s events are often folks who are  already interested in astronomy, whereas quirk laments that astronomy is not often the first science that new yorkers think of. 

“in new york city, because this sky is not obviously bright, a lot of people just don’t think about the night sky. they don’t pause to look up and see whatever stars are visible or think about astronomy,” quirk said. “if we can get those people to think, just for a moment, about the cosmos and their place in it, [it]would be really exciting for us.” 

anyone can discover the secrets of the universe

quirk and her team of volunteers have tried everything from community collaboration to guerilla marketing to make new yorkers aware of capo’s programming. some volunteers have set up a telescope on a street corner and encourage passersby to look through. others have gone to local libraries and middle schools to teach students about dark matter and black holes. 

“we can have some accessible versions of bringing telescopes to campus level, so people don’t have to climb the stairs on the roof. people can take public transportation very easily to get to us. i think that is the benefit of new york, there’s just more people in the heart of the city,” quirk said.

the campaign towards creating accessible science programming involves capo’s and outside programs’ funding. columbia university’s campus has physical barriers that require the astronomy program leaders to meet students, parents and teachers who are not affiliated with the campus where they are. 

“that is one of the reasons that we do things at libraries and we do things in classrooms, because those are places where we reach kids who may not have access to technology or may not have parents who can take them to columbia on a friday night,” mead said. 

activities on campus also sometimes end with a call for listeners to express their support of science programming to their local representatives and to remind the federal government that the american people are interested in astronomy projects being completed. 

the american astronomical society has kept a close watch on public policy updates about astronomy on their website. at the end of the public outreach lecture on telescopes, a question comes from an elementary student about when the thirty meter telescope (tmt), an infrared and optical telescope under construction in hawai’i. mead answered solemnly that tmt’s funding was cut by donald trump’s national science foundation, which cited the project as unaffordable. 

quirk and mead say they are excited for the future, both lovingly refer to astronomy as a “gateway science” because of how its accessibility gets people to start thinking. capo’s participants express enthusiasm about the upcoming programming, and every outreach program involves teaching children, parents and adults something new. 

“it’s totally fair for people to have preferences, but there’s nothing actually built into our brains that says you can’t do math or you can do math,” said quirk. “astronomy can be as simple as thinking about your place in the universe, or how your culture, or your spiritual beliefs are tied to the way the earth moves or other aspects of space. i think it is a really inviting way for people to think.”

i grew up in fulton, new york, and have seen firsthand the impacts on our local lake. lake neatahwanta is a 715-acre lake. the lake has faced pollution, water quality, and algae-bloom issues for decades.

i hope that by watching this video, viewers can better understand the driving factors of the eutrophication (or the presence of excessive nutrients) of the body of water, what has been done to try to revitalize it, as well as current hopes and plans to help get the waters quality, and toxic blue-green algae blooms under control.

while out on the river, the workers perform river quality monitoring, measuring acidity and clarity. maeda, water quality specialist at the aws for the past 20 years, leads this effort and said the water quality of the river has improved, which can be attributed to mussel deployment and reduced sewage runoff. 

“the anacostia river may look better than you think,” maeda said.

testing water quality along the anacostia river

the pair set off from the aws boat dock at the eastern power boat club. from there, they spend two to three hours on the river, hitting 10 different water quality testing stations. their route goes from the south capitol street bridge, at the intersection of the potomac river, up through the bladensburg bridge, near the border of the district and southern maryland.

maeda said he checks the river’s clarity by dipping a clean water bottle into the river to gather a sample. he also checks the river through a water quality testing machine. with this machine, maeda checks for the water’s acidity and temperature. he also looks at the dissolved oxygen in the water, the e. coli levels, and the conductivity.

these measurements help him determine the river’s health for human consumption, aquatic life, recreation, and other uses.

for the past eight years, maeda has brought along volunteer spottswood, a 78-year-old from north bethesda, md. she uses a secchi disk, a black-and-white patterned plate, to check the water’s clarity by lowering it into the water and measuring the depth at which it disappears. 

according to spottswood, the section of the anacostia river closer to the potomac is clearer compared to upper parts of the river. this is because the tidal section in maryland has more fecal bacteria from wildlife compared to areas near the potomac river, per the 2021 aws report card. 

“we’d love to see the bottom,” she said. “we never will.” 

spottswood got involved with the aws after taking their maryland master naturalist course. when the instructor said maeda needed a volunteer, she said she jumped at the opportunity. 

“i love being on the river,” spottswood said. “it’s just so beautiful.”

aws also relies on volunteers to help deploy mussels into the anacostia river. jorge bogantes montero, 43, restoration program manager at the aws, is in charge of this effort and said these mussels are part of the reason for a cleaner river. he said the aws began deploying the mussels in 2019.

since then, he said, over 38,000 mussels have been reintroduced into the anacostia river. they now filter 10-20 gallons of water per day, adding up to the equivalent of over 210 olympic-sized pools per year.

bogantes said volunteers make this project possible, as they are the ones releasing the mussels. he said the mailing list for the mussel volunteers is around 300 people. 

“the mussel project has been eye-opening for us,” bogantes said. “when we started, we were not expecting the support we have received for this project.”

reasons for anacostia river water quality improvement

maeda said it’s difficult to link mussel deployment directly to improved water quality because there are not many mussels upstream in the anacostia river. he said a main reason for an improvement in water quality is a decrease in sewage in the river, thanks to several projects run by the district’s department of energy and environment of the district through their restoring the anacostia river website.

the anacostia river sediment project, for example, identifies potential contaminants located within the anacostia river, along with the washington channel and kingman lake. and in november 2024, the doee also released their anacostia river corridor restoration plan. 

they also work on stormwater and sewage management systems through their riversmart homes program. 

since 2007, the riversmart homes program website said, it has supported residents with rain barrels, shade trees, rain gardens, and native plants. the program website also said it reimburses the construction behind the movement of large hard-surface areas like driveways or patios. 

these efforts reduce sewage and polluted runoff by helping rain soak into other areas instead of carrying trash into storm drains, according to the riversmart homes website. richard jackson, director of the doee, said this program works to prevent pollution.  

“it’s an old program,” jackson said. “but it’s still very effective and many people enjoy that program and benefit from it.” 

this past november, the aws released its 2025 state of the anacostia river report, showing improvements. 

the overall score was a pass of 65%, or a d, which is the second highest grade ever recorded, according to the report. but the anacostia river has not always passed the test, maeda said. the state of the anacostia river reports from 2019, 2022, and 2023 all showed failing grades. 

maeda said this means the river has shown improvement, but still has a long way to go.

to learn more about how this type of climate policy is implemented across hundreds of european cities, watch the video above!

plastic bottles account for 60% of all trash retrieved from the anacostia river by weight, according to the anacostia riverkeeper. councilmember brianne k. nadeau, a democrat from ward 1, said the goal of the bill is to reduce the overall amount of litter found in the anacostia river by providing monetary incentive, along with benefiting the public health of people and wildlife. 

nadeau introduced the law in january. it would enable customers to return empty bottles and cans to businesses in the district where they would receive 10 cents for each container.

“if you travel by boat along the anacostia river, you can see how many bottles and cans wash out from neighborhoods into the river,” nadeau said in an email.

the case for the bottle bill

chris weiss, 58, executive director of the dc environmental network, testified on behalf of the bottle bill at the dc council hearing. during his testimony, he said over 50 regions globally operate a system similar to the scheme being proposed in the bottle bill, including 17 european countries, australia, canada and more. 

weiss later added in an interview that 10 states have implemented bottle bills, including his home state of california. when he used to live in california, he said he would go around and collect bottles to receive a little extra cash. 

“my dad would say, ‘hey, you want some money? go collect some bottles,’” weiss said.  

california passed its beverage container recycling and litter reduction act, or bottle bill, in 1986.

in addition to california, connecticut, delaware, hawaii, iowa, maine, massachusetts, michigan, new york, oregon and vermont also have bottle bills. the first state to enact one was oregon in 1971 with the beverage container act, according to the oregon beverage recycling cooperative, which runs the program.

during his testimony, weiss said the ocean conservancy reported nearly 27% of the u.s. population is covered by a system like the one being proposed in the district. despite representing just over a quarter of the country, he said these programs are responsible for more than 50% of aluminum can recycling.

fiscal uncertainty complicates the bill’s future

this spring, the district faced a potential $1 billion budget cut when a federal continuing resolution would have caused the government to move back to its fiscal year 2024 spending levels mid-year, according to the dc fiscal policy institute.

this budget bill did not pass but the city responded with hiring and pay raise freezes along with employee furloughs, per axios. 

weiss said beverage producers will fund the program rather than taxpayers.

during the hearing, risa hirao, president and general counsel of the district of columbia association of beverage alcohol wholesalers, stood in opposition to the bill. she said distributors will be responsible for funding the program rather than the district government.

“d.c. businesses cannot absorb this level of cost,” she said during the hearing.

riverkeeper and wildlife advocates call for environmental action

riverkeeper trey sherard, 41, from the anacostia riverkeeper, an organization working to restore and protect the anacostia river, said during the hearing that small businesses with under 2,000 square feet of retail space are exempt from the law, meaning they are not required to collect bottles or cans from the public, sherard said. 

the anacostia riverkeeper contributes to trash collection in the anacostia river. they host river clean-up events and have bandalong litter traps working to catch trash in the river according to their website.

since 2015, when the anacostia riverkeeper began keeping detailed data collection of their community cleanups and traps, they have removed 187,098.2 pounds of trash from the anacostia river, averaging out to 17,000 pounds of trash per year as of october 2025, according to an email sent by a representative of the anacostia riverkeeper. 

the email said they have removed approximately 339,293 plastic bottles from the river.

these plastic bottles have effects on people, sherard said. he said the bottles add microplastics, or pieces of plastic less than five millimeters, into the environment for people to breathe, drink and eat. microplastics are absorbed into humans’ bodies and cause various diseases within the endocrine and reproductive systems, according to the yonsei medical journal.   

“we have plasticized ourselves,” sherard said. 

lorraine docherty, 56, also spoke in support of the bill. docherty is executive director of city wildlife, an organization rehabilitating injured and orphaned wildlife in the district. she said in an interview that wildlife “frequently” becomes entangled with plastics, which can lead to an untimely death through starvation or predation. 

during her testimony, she said a study from the american chemical society of environmental science and technology which she said plastic pollution has exceeded the safe planetary boundary, meaning rainwater is no longer safe to drink due to microplastics. 

“d.c.’s bottle bill offers a proven solution,” docherty said. 

as of publication, it is unclear when the next hearing on a potential district bottle bill will occur.

the ocean conservancy, an environmental nonprofit working to protect the world’s oceans, hosted its annual international coastal cleanup on the anacostia river at anacostia park on sept. 27. the effort aims to keep the river free of debris and trash, but also addresses the deeper challenge of reducing flood risks for the anacostia community, said sarah weller, senior manager for the international coastal cleanup. 

“the debris causes more flooding if it’s in there, either floating at the surface or caught up in natural debris,” weller said.

prior to the cleanup, weller said volunteers would be cleaning the area near the river and expected to collect 400-500 pounds of trash.

weller said the ocean conservancy only does one river clean-up per year on the anacostia river. but the anacostia riverkeeper, an organization measuring and preventing pollution in the river, hosts river clean-ups throughout the year. their volunteers have removed more than 182,000 pounds of trash since 2014.

rising flood risks

riverkeeper trey sherard of the anacostia riverkeeper said rainwater sweep debris and trash from city streets into the river. as a result, there is less room in the natural riverbed for water from the next storm. the rain still needs somewhere to go, so it floods out into the neighborhood.

“there’s going to be more water trying to get down here anytime it does rain,” sherard said. 

sherard added that the flooding residents see most often is along the road of the anacostia park — where the volunteers cleaned up trash at the event. 

research from first street, an organization monitoring locations at risk to climate change, said 22.4% of properties in the anacostia historic district have a risk of flooding. 

flooding is also tied to public health problems like increased respiratory and related allergic health effects due to dampness and mold, a yale school of public health study found. residents living east of the anacostia are twice as likely to report “fair or poor health” compared to those west of the river, an aarp study reported.

george washington university geography department chair david rain said there are other factors making anacostia more prone to flooding. he said the ground in the neighborhood is mostly clay and sand, materials which cannot reliably support the weight of a house. the instability of the ground causes foundations to crack and lean to one side, lowering houses closer to rising water.

there has also been increased rainfall within the past decade, which, along with anacostia being on a floodplain, is leading to a higher risk of flooding compared to the overall risk of the district of columbia, he said.

taking action in anacostia

one volunteer, mia elliott, said it was her second time at the river clean-up through the ocean conservancy. she is originally from los angeles, and said her connection to the ocean prompted her to volunteer. 

she said she notices litter on the streets of the city which often get caught in the waterways.

“i mean, obviously that’s, like, horrible for the residents and the environment,” elliott said. 

a 68-year-old community member and environmental advocate of anacostia, brenda richardson, said she has been a victim of flooding. richardson said she lives in a townhouse which is over 100 years old. she added that every time it rains and water goes over the curb, her basement floods.  

“it’s just something i’ve come to grips with,” richardson said. “and i’ve learned to deal with it.” 

the d.c. department of energy and the environment, or doee, aims to improve conditions for residents like richardson with its riversmart program. meredith upchurch, 55, associate director of the doee’s natural resources administration, said the goal is to stop stormwater from going into rivers and streams. 

upchurch said doee sends contractors to homes to recommend how to stop or slow stormwater. according to a doee pamphlet, these projects include rain barrels, planting trees, and more. 

but riversmart may not be a permanent solution. even before the government shutdown beginning oct. 1, the u.s. house of representatives cut $1 billion from the district’s budget, threatening programs like riversmart.

according to richard jackson, director of the doee, the d.c. council prioritized protecting the program.

“we’ve been able to have money added to it,” jackson said, “but this was purely from a local enhancement.” 

now, with federal funding lapsed, the future of riversmart funding remains uncertain.

but weller from the ocean conservancy said community clean-up efforts remain a crucial tool for combating flood risks around the world. in addition to the conservancy’s annual clean-up in anacostia, the organization hosts different international coastal clean-ups in europe and africa. 

“these volunteer clean-ups are really important for flood prevention,” weller said.

editor’s note: coverage of water stories is made possible, in part, by the walton family foundation.  the editorial content is determined by planet forward staff and students. we thank the walton family foundation for their continued support.

steelwork smoke in the air, young faces on their way to school, and the familiar silhouette of industry in the distance. this is teesside — a region tucked away in the northeastern corner of the british isles, long burdened by a legacy of petrochemical production and laborious toil. 

in the early 2000’s, tees valley thrived as the steel-making capital of the world, shipping raw materials to even the most remote edges of the globe. however, in 2015, the collapse of the region’s iron and steel industry saw a shadow cast over the manufacturing heartland, tarnishing the pride and grit of the “smoggies,” a community now marked by economic deprivation and environmental pressure. 

today, teesside has become one of several dumping grounds for the nation’s waste, hosting multiple incineration and landfill sites. and with the construction of a new waste-incineration facility looming in the future, local families, councillors, and grassroots campaign groups are expressing concerns over regional air quality and economic hardship.

what’s on the table? 

the tees valley energy recovery facility (tverf) is a waste-incineration site proposed for the area of grangetown, a historically deprived district of the uk where average healthy life expectancy falls well below the national average. this large-scale, £2.4 billion (approximately $3.2 billion) infrastructure project is a publicly led initiative, organized by a partnership of seven different councils across the north east. with the promise of 50 permanent jobs, and enough electricity to power 60,000 homes, the facility frames itself as a sustainable alternative to landfill for managing residual waste — material that cannot be recycled. 

however, alarm bells have begun ringing over these sustainability claims and some community members allege that the operator of the site, viridor, has not had a promising environmental track record. a 2025 uk governmental report by the environment agency outlines 916 breaches of pollution limits at a station in southern england, which the company attributed to human error in calibrating monitoring software. 

tristan learoyd, an unaffiliated independent councillor from teesside said that the proposed site holds “massive effects for the environment locally and for the planet internationally.”

“it’s a cumulative effect of one incinerator after the other,” learoyd said. “the tverf will produce more carbon than the whole of redcar and cleveland,” he said, referencing one of the councils involved in the proposal. this issue, he adds, makes a “mockery of anyone” who installs a heat pump, lowers their carbon footprint, or drives an electric vehicle.

however, according to a statement provided on behalf of the project partners, the tverf will be “future-proofed,” designed not only to generate electricity but also to export heat and capture carbon emissions if the opportunity to develop supporting infrastructure arises.

meanwhile, learoyd highlights that projects of similar waste-composition globally have shown levels of pollution that could cause severe damage to lung health, lead to heart problems, and accelerate brain issues such as dementia. these concerns are particularly significant at a time when air pollution already claims the lives of more than 30,000 individuals in the uk per year. 

“the tverf is regressive. it’s not needed,” said fiona dyer, a volunteer and campaigner for the north east climate justice coalition, and stop incineration north east. “people are thinking about their kids, and their kids’ futures.”

a costly proposal 

as of 2023, the north east region’s capacity for processing residual waste is on target to exceed municipal needs based on volume of solid and residual waste. and, with the introduction of government recycling schemes such as the circular economy package, the amount of waste available for incineration in districts like teesside becomes increasingly scarce. 

according to advocates like dyer, there is a broad suspicion that, as fuel supplies drop, more waste will be shipped in from elsewhere as councils potentially buy up refuse to avoid penalties for missing incineration targets.  

learoyd expands on this, arguing that councils importing waste, alongside paying gate fees for incineration, covering carbon taxes on emissions, and funding the initial contract with operator viridor, will result in a “15% increase in council tax for every single payer in the north east of england for 30 years.” this concept, he adds, is an “economic disaster and politicians need to wake up.” 

in contrast, the tverf project partners maintain that this technology is the only “safe, reliable, sustainable, and affordable” solution for disposing of the region’s residual waste. they further claim the facility will create “hundreds of employment and training opportunities,” while injecting “nearly £30 million [$40 million] over the contract term” into the local economy and its communities.

critics argue that despite assurances, these financial complications could not only negatively affect individuals in teesside already facing cycles of entrenched poverty, but also threaten environmental targets.

“what i anticipate councils will do is they’ll deliberately reduce the amount of recycling they do, so they’ve got more to burn in the incinerator,” learoyd said.

forward-thinking 

nonprofit organizations such as the north east climate justice coalition have urged regional councils to accelerate investment into highly innovative forms of waste management that present a promising alternative to incineration for teesside.  

particular focus has been placed on a facility within the english midlands, known as sherbourne recycling. this publicly organized program, managed by eight local authorities, uses industry-leading ai sorting and machine technology to process residential curbside waste more efficiently. 

serving a population of 1.5 million people, roughly the same population the proposed tverf aims to cover, this model shows potential for adoption in teesside. nevertheless, observers argue that for an initiative like this to succeed, an amendment of local government direction and re-allocation of funds may be necessary.

grassroots charitable group, stop incineration north east (sine), are a collective who have advanced suggestions for alternatives to the tverf. from compiling in-depth reports on anaerobic digesters for food waste management to debating modern u.s. landfill practices — aimed at reducing methane emissions through secured containment — sine’s grassroots level work is focused on spreading awareness for these alternatives.

dyer, a spokesperson for sine says, “we are very keen to get people, more young people in the area to actually join the campaign or support it.” 

with the tverf set to begin construction in 2026, and operations anticipated to commence in late 2029, a verdict on the facility’s sustainability remains unclear. a transparent review of the project and potential alternative technologies could therefore help address community concerns and steer teesside toward a cleaner, more sustainable future.

the mystic aquarium in connecticut has been rescuing, rehabilitating, and releasing animals for 50 years.

on june 11, the aquarium’s animal rescue team returned two gray seals — caterpillar and beetle, both approximately 3 months old — to the ocean following months at the animal rescue clinic. their release marks the final step in a recovery process made possible by the collaboration of the rescue team,  incredible veterinary staff, and hardworking volunteers. 

from diagnosis to care

young caterpillar was rescued in delaware by the marine education, research and rehabilitation institute (merr) on march 27 after being found on the beach with nasal discharge, coughing, and several wounds. fortunately, he was triaged at the national aquarium before being transferred to mystic aquarium on april 1. meanwhile, beetle was rescued locally from block island, rhode island, after sadly being found with monofilament wrapped around her neck cutting into the skin and tissue.  

at the aquarium’s clinic, both gray seals received dedicated care. caterpillar was given fluids for hydration, antibiotics for pneumonia, and a dewormer for parasites. beetle, on the other hand, was disentangled, given antibiotics for an infection, fluids for hydration, and wound care for the lacerations around her neck. 

thankfully, after two months, veterinary and rehabilitation experts deemed them healthy and fit for release! 

how many gray seals need help?

each year, mystic aquarium’s animal rescue team rehabilitates an average of 25 stranded or injured seals — particularly from around the block island area. remarkably, the program has already rehabilitated 20 seals since the start of 2025. 

most common cases involve entanglement, pneumonia and other infections, predator and conspecific inflicted wounds, malnutrition, and a variety of other health concerns. these efforts are part of the aquarium’s broader mission to protect and conserve marine wildlife. 

ultimately, the release of these animals underscores the crucial role of rescue and rehabilitation programs for our aquatic species, serving as a poignant reminder of the ongoing need for ocean stewardship. 

if you come across an injured or stranded marine animal, contact your local office: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/report.

the planet forward mystic aquarium fellowship program was made possible with support by michael lech, david freeman, and the berl brechner fund.

for 50 years, mankind has been dominated by a realm of perpetual convenience, as this versatile material reserved a permanent home inside our hearts and minds. yet little did we know — while society was marveling at its sheer durability — that each micro-particle would soon become its own time-bomb across every crevice of the globe.

looking translucently flawless on the outside, the deep dive under plastic’s surface tells a whole different story. the history of plastic begins with the origin of crude oil, becoming plasticized and shaped into products, before utilization, and periodically directed to recycling. this is where, due to economic inefficiency, plastic instability, and a rise in single-use goods, less than 5% of u.s. plastics wind up here, even if placed in recycling bins.

for those recycled, new chemicals are introduced in this universal mixing of products, as plastics’ permeability enables pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and numerous chemicals to be added. across the globe, the un environment programme reports the association of over 13,000 chemicals with plastic products, of which 7,000 are potentially harmful substances, and 3,200 of those substances carry one or more harmful properties. under this surface, plastic conceals multi-layered toxicity, slowly leaching out of even the smallest particle upon breaking down.

between arctic sea ice riddled as a sink for microplastic concentrations, increasing pfas chemicals in polar bear livers, mountains of plastic fast-fashion clothing in chile’s deserts, mosquito-infested plastic-clogged waterways in uganda, and the over 8 million tons of plastic deposited from land to the ocean yearly, these microplastics travel by the wind, land, and sea to coat the globe. most are undetectable by the naked eye, seamlessly blended as a foreigner in our natural world, infiltrating our bodies without obstruction.

once inside, the smallest microplastics — nanoplastics — have a mysterious way of slipping past bodily defenses, spreading chemicals, and often claiming indefinite residence inside organs. pfas and plastic particles are presumably in every person, present in the lungs, brain, kidneys, blood, placenta, liver, and testicles, causing cancers, hormonal imbalances, infertility, and adhd, among many other health issues. the larger the plastic, the more impassable it becomes, making it harder for the body to excrete it. this proved true for a whale on the philippines’ coast, washed ashore deceased with 88 pounds of plastic inside.

this harrowing reality, caused by something so ubiquitous, is what threatens every living being on this planet. from fruits and vegetables, to cotton plants and maple trees, to wild salmon and livestock, plastic is not only a perceived everyday necessity, but woven into each fiber of our very existence. to open this window of truth behind this inanimate material, we must take a first-hand look at its journey. continue reading below.

what am i? that is the universal question circling my mindless presence while being stretched, heated, and morphed into a creation entirely new. polished, perfect, thousands of polymers intertwined, just waiting for their capacity to be tested.

significance is a new concept, yet it feels like an old friend. it is easy to get drowned out in this warehouse among millions of my clones, rolled up in tightly wound bales, loaded into trucks, and distributed like a web across the globe. yet somehow, in my short life, i feel my significance measured in dependence. someone is waiting for me.

my voyage ships me to a familiar place. a dark warehouse acts as the separation between our storage and the stimulating world. hands unbox me into a grocery store, becoming stationed on two metal rods. children, scanners, and blinding lights take up the space. people file past — dutifully pushing their carriages — as i am newly unsealed, stuffed with two small items, and placed alongside my counterparts.

carried out, handles stretching, my finality and purpose are solidified in an instant. dependence by humanity constituting only a negligible moment of my existence. the magic period of my creation has been reduced to myself in tatters. whisked by the breeze from the individual’s hand, i get caught in a tree. dangling, before my memory is swept away in the wind.

i am nearly torn in two by the time someone rescues me from the roadside, drops me in a blue bin, which lands me in a truck surrounded by multitudes of soiled plastic. chemicals, medicine, fertilizers, and spoiled milk aromas swirl. appreciation floods while witnessing other plastics’ fate, but this prompts the realization of how little i was utilized. a new question forms in my inanimate presence.

why was i made?

plastic. everywhere… plastic. i begin to realize my existence and my reason in this odorous truck.

we’re heading back to a factory.
it is the only sensible purpose behind this confinement, soon leading to light. loaded on conveyors, loosely sorted, while the accumulation of products’ chemicals permeates my surface. even the sanitization does not remove their foreign presence. the air fills with micro-particles as my worn surface is shredded, melted, and remade. tainted, manipulated, thousands of polymers intertwined, just waiting for their breaking point.

i survive the next years of over-stimulation and tattering, before landing in a cold watershed, where a piece of myself breaks off in the current.

minuscule enough to evade obstacles, the liquid feels like preservation as much as a trap. i feel myself diminishing as salt particles surround me. its harsh touch holds no effect in corroding my already contaminated being.

plankton. coral. stingray. sea ice. the current carries me across new stimuli, new biodiversity, and new environments in which i am embedded. my predetermined purpose relinquished, now ebbing and flowing from fish gills, whale baleen, and among the shrimp in this endless new home. presumably forgotten, slowly leaching chemicals into the serene abyss. permanence is now an unargued notion, as a final fish—a salmon—innocently engulfs me. i meld into its muscle walls, which soon become frigid and hard on ice.

i am small. i am insignificant. all it took was the transition from the fork to the mouth, and down into the stomach, before becoming lodged in a human’s liver. the species that morphed me into creation, now to never be rid of my presence. this is where i will remain, along with thousands of my friends, for a time i do not know how to measure.

i suppose it will be until something dislodges me. i never thought this would be the end of my journey, with so much left to see, so much life left to touch.

maybe my other pieces made it farther. but as insignificant as i feel, somehow this seems monumental. i am only one out of billions.

they are out there, circling the globe, just waiting to invisibly settle. settle on the bottom of the ocean floor. settle in someone’s lungs. settle in the roots of a coffee plant in africa.

but somehow i feel discontented. i know my presence here isn’t wanted, and i will be causing harm for the rest of my existence. living forever, just waiting to see where i will land next.