Guest Lecture is an activity to disseminate information in the form of forums such as webinars by inviting external presenters in their respective fields. The Guest Lecture event entitled “Fast Fashion Trends in Contributing Microplastic Waste” which will be held on 17 September 2022 is a work program of the Department of Social Community Environmental Engineering Association of UPN “Veteran” Jawa Timur.
The materials presented included:
What is microplastic? Some research says that microplastics are plastics that are less than 5 mm in size. There are many types of small plastic particles, namely:
1. Macrosize plastic (a lot of polluting the environment)
2. Microsize plastic
3. Meso-size plastic
4. Nano size plastic
5. Pico size plastic
6. Femto size plastic
Microplastics are plastic crumbs with the size less than 5 mm. Apart from large plastics, microplastics also come from industrial waste and household waste.
Dangers of Microplastics:
1. Microplastics have an open chemical bond, so it easily binds harmful compounds and microbes around it, and easily releases harmful toxins that make up plastics
2. Contains toxic chemicals, including phthalates (plastic flexors), bisphenol-A (BPA). EVOH etc., which act as hormone disrupting compounds.
3. Microplastics can trigger health problems including cancer, diabetes, lowered immunity, reproductive disorders, and nervous system disorders
How can microplastics polluted the environment?
1. Birds and turtles have plastic in their stomachs. Many birds died. This causes damage to the environment. There is no definite statement on the impact of microplastics, not many researchers have investigated it.
2. Microplastics have the same size as microorganisms. If microorganisms are contaminated, it will disrupt the food chain and result in reduced biota or other living things. When microorganisms are contaminated by microplastics, mycoplastics will enter our bodies
What is the impact of microplastics on human health?
Microplastics have not been declared a hazard, but WHO gives a message of microplastics in the air with a particulate meter (air pollution that has been proven to be harmful to health consisting of inhaled dust). In the water itself, the impact of microplastics is defined as the danger of microorganisms in the human body such as e-coli bacteria. However, there is no definitive research. It took 10 years to confirm research that says microplastics are harmful. But we must remain vigilant to protect our environment.
We as students can participate in overcoming the problem of microplastics by:
1. Conduct research, such as using potato peel waste as a substitute for plastic water filters
2. Eliminate microplastics in water by using electrocoagulation or using sound waves
Why does Fast fashion contribute to microplastic waste?
The fashion industry itself is one of the industries that has short cycles, complex supply chains, the most polluting industry in the world, and fluctuating demand. The product distribution cycle is 6 months because the fashion phenomenon is always changing. Fast fashion is an industry that offers cheap and trendy clothes. For example, when it is summer, it produces clothes that are suitable for use in the summer and etc.
