The Microplastics Lab’s Impact on Me
Sarah Egner, Senior Vice President Program Services
Six years ago MarineLab started offering a Microplastics Lab. The lab entails having students collect 1 L water samples from a snorkel site. Students filter the samples and count the abundance of each type of microplastic found. As far as I know, we have not had a sample yet that was free of plastic. The results from this lab turned out to be life changing for me.
MarineLab is in general an eye-opening place to work. As an instructor, I saw my first manta, my first hammerhead, my first sea spider. It is where I first saw the excitement that ensues when a student sees the reef for the first time and where I experienced what it is like to work with a student who tells you how scared she is of the ocean on the first day and leaves telling you she wants to be a marine biologist. At MarineLab, I have seen the impact experiential education has- and not only on the students.
Not all of these “eye openers” have been positive. Over the years I have seen the water from the boat basin come closer and closer to our cafeteria door as sea level rises. I have said goodbye to many of my favorite coral heads as I watched disease take over. And, thanks to the microplastics lab, it is where I realized just how much plastic is actually in our water.
The findings from the lab- which have been corroborated by scientific research- were appalling. I read about people who reduced their plastic consumption so that all the plastic they used in a year could fit into a mason jar – I felt I needed to do the same. I immediately made many lifestyle changes - no fast fashion, only natural fibers, no straws, no plastic bags, no single use anything, ever, anywhere, don’t even look at it! I made my own soap, shampoo, toothpaste, and detergents. No paper towels, only bamboo toilet paper. The list goes on. And you know what? It was really hard. It was stressful. And I felt guilty whenever I “failed.”
I learned that the best thing I could do was to pick and choose the lifestyle changes that reduced my plastic use but were relatively simple for me. I love thrift shopping so buying used clothes is no hardship for me (textiles are the primary form of microplastics in our oceans). I learned that I prefer bar shampoo, conditioner and soap over bottled. I haven’t bought paper towels in over 5 years – I cut up old towels for big messes and use Swedish dish towels for general wipe downs.
I gave myself permission not to be held to rules. If I forget my reusable bags when I go in the grocery store, I take what they give me. I used a mix of cloth and disposable diapers for my son, depending on what was most convenient. I actually had to change quite a few plastic-free habits when I had my son- and I let myself be OK with that.
There are many daunting threats to our oceans. Plastics is certainly one of them, but it is a threat that we can do something about. And it doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive. If you can fit your annual plastic in a mason jar, go for it; if that is a bit much for you, I encourage you to pick one small behavioral change you can do that reduces your plastic use. Start with that. Once it becomes engrossed in your life, pick another. I believe if we all make small changes, together we can make a big impact. Another MarineLab eye- opener!