plastics
the journal of Michael Werneburg
twenty-eight years and a million words
My mother gave me a book for X'mas titled "The World Without Us". It discusses what might happen to the planet should something like a nasty virus or conventional war* should suddenly remove humans. It's quite well written, and depicts a much 'healthier' world. I have to say it's making a real believer out of me (not a good sign considering I'm about to become a parent).
There is one horrifying element discussed in the book that has never before crossed my mind. It turns out that many cosmetics contain plastics. So, even if you're properly recycling your cosmetics containers, the actual cosmetics themselves get washed into the ocean and contribute to the ever-increasing permanent load of plastics there. And don't kid yourself that the plastics will break down; they just get torn into smaller pieces.
Apparently they've been found in the digestive systems of creatures as small as krill, the tiny crustaceans that form the basis of the oceans' food chain. Naturally, they can kill anything that consumes them.
I'm not sure what to do about this, yet, but there is one thing that's clear: I'm immediately ceasing use of the exfoliant scrubs I've got that contain polyethylene. I'm going to look for 100% natural varieties instead. And I think I'll also write to the manufacturers and tell them I'm switching. But I've got two unused bottles set aside; what to do with the stuff.
How do you 'properly dispose' of this shit? Burn it? Bury it? I'm pretty sure that in Tokyo the garbage is either burned or "buried at sea".
*I think it's just