‘Last weeks study said it was polyester clothing. The week before that it was fishing nets.
https://www.statista.com/chart/17957/where-the-oceans-microplastics-come-from/
The link you provided has synthetic clothing at 35% and tire dust at 28%.
The next two biggest categories are city dust and road markings.
It’s not really that much of a shocker that a different study finds tire dust as the biggest category.
Fishing nets have never been a big contributor to microplastics. They are a big category of hazardous ocean waste.
Read the first sentence: “Lost and abandoned fishing gear which is deadly to marine life makes up the majority of large plastic pollution in the oceans, according to a report by Greenpeace.” I added the italics. Note also that the OP article is about micro plastics.
Fishing nets don’t photodegrade into microplastics?
Yeah its weird. Isnt vulcanised rubber heavier than water and sinks?
That would work if tires were nothing but rubber, but they’re not.
https://e360.yale.edu/features/tire-pollution-toxic-chemicals
It’s also been known to be wiping out salmon before they spawn since 2020
https://ecology.wa.gov/blog/january-2023/saving-washington-s-salmon-from-toxic-tire-dust
Remember, if you live near a major road you and your family are breathing in brake and tire dust constantly and it will take years off of your life. Not to mention the lower quality of that shorter life.
One place I worked my office was in the corner of the warehouse, when we moved warehouses I had to go up onto of the office for some reason and there was a almost a 5cm thick layer of tire and diesel dust on top of it… I stepped on thinking it was just dirty and my shoe just went through it all
Such pollution is perhaps unlikely to have a direct impact on issues like climate change, but the potential toxicity for humans, animals, and the broader environment is a prime concern.
So I guess it’s likely bad, but for different reasons.
/c/fuckcars