You might have already heard it, we are slowly but surely starting to live in the Barbie world 🎀. No, it is not the colour — I would like to think that the pink mania is finally over. It is the fact that there is now a little Barbie in all of us, thanks to microplastics.
Have you ever thought about how much plastic surrounds us every single day? It’s everywhere – from the big of crisps you just popped, to your eyeglasses and even the screen you’re glued to. Just take a moment to look around and count how many plastic items you spot in just one minute.
Now, let’s have a look at some numbers. Over 300 million tonnes of plastic is produced every year, 50% of which consists of single-use items like plastic bags, straws, coffee cups. Since just around 20% of plastic is actually recycled per year globally, the rest is left to party in landfills and elsewhere.
Why does plastic have such staying power? It’s the ultimate, non-biodegradable king of trash, sticking around for up to 1,000 years. Wait, it gets worse: up to 14 million tons of plastic trash crash our oceans annually, killing one million sea birds and 100,000 marine animals as they either become entangled in or ingest the plastic debris. According to WWF, if we keep going at this rate, more plastic than fish could be floating in our seas by 2050.
Case in point: two years ago, while on a yoga retreat in Corfu, Greece, I met a fellow traveller who was a Clean Sea ambassador. Given the state of the beach right in front of our accommodation, she proposed we do a cleanup. Four girls – yours truly included – collected over 30kg of trash in just over two hours. What a treasure hunt: broken flip-flops, plastic bottles and bags, packaging foam, fishing nets and whatnot.
Hey, Barbie: plastic pollution isn’t just about our flora and fauna. According to the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), once plastic finds its way into the environment, it’s like a party crasher, contaminating food chains and water supplies. And bon appétit indeed, because you might be chomping down on 39,000 to 52,000 microplastic particles annually. if you’re a bottled water fan, add another 90,000 bits of microplastic to your yearly intake compared to tap water drinkers.
But hold on a second, it’s not just about what you eat or drink. Microplastics from beauty products and synthetic clothing fibers sneak into our drinking water as well. I guess we are turning into plastic dolls?
It might not be chopping off years of our lives just yet, but it could quietly up the risk for things like cancer, diabetes, and other chronic illnesses down the road. So far, though, there is still hope — our bodies are pretty resilient. If we can keep microplastic levels steady, our natural defences might counteract the harm.
🪄13 Plastic-Free Swaps that Would Make Even Barbie Proud🪄
- Go mug life: Canadians throw back a whopping 14 billion cups each year. In the UK, it’s 2.5 billion coffee cups and barely 1 in 400 gets recycled. Be a hero, carry your own mug, and some cafes might even toss in a discount.
- Ditch the trashy takeout: A study in four U.S. coastal cities spilled the beans—67% of disposable plastic trash is from takeout packaging. Show some love to Mama Earth by toting a reusable container and cutlery when grabbing takeout.
- Drink smarter: Globally, 1.2 million water bottles fly off the shelves every minute. Less than half get recycled, and some end up being a snack for sea turtles. That said, carrying a reusable bottle (best if metal) is not so troublesome, is it?
- Make lunch plastic-free: Skip the unnecessary plastic vibes when packing your lunch. It’s not just good for you but also a high-five to our ocean pals.
- Eco-friendly grocery haul: Plan ahead (yes, discipline is key), buy bulk, ditch plastic packaging, and bring your own reusable produce bags or nets for those fruits and veggies.
- Cloth bag crew: Make it a lifestyle to carry a cloth bag. Say goodbye to single-use plastic bags, if only for a fashion statement.
- Ciao plastic straws and cutlery: Swap for metal ones – they are light and will not break!
- Cling wrap no more: Wrap it up with aluminium foil, beeswax wraps, or reusable lunchboxes.
- Spill the tea, save the plastic: Some teabags hide plastic, messing up composting. Go for loose leaf tea or reusable teabags and keep it green.
- No glitter at this party: Most glitter is made from plastic, and it’s the party crasher that never leaves. Swap it out for eco-friendly decorations.
- Glass, cans and paper: Glass and cans are the real heroes of waste managment: they can be recycled infinitely. In turn, pick pasta in a paper box instead of pasta in a bag, or detergent in the box instead of the bottle..
- Call your ma, eco-style: Next time you need a new phone case, look for a biodegradable one.
- Personal care, planet care: Get picky about your personal care to cut down on packaging, and give containers a second life.
Need some ideas for personal care swaps? => click to expand
***
In the mood for baking, I decided to give another vegan recipe a shot. After checking my cupboards for ingredients, I settled on making matcha muffins with jam instead of red bean paste. I ran out of regular flour halfway through, so I had to get creative and used coconut flour instead. The matcha I had wasn’t very fresh, so the muffins didn’t turn out as green as I hoped, but they’re still delicious! They’re definitely going on my list of healthy treats.
Other challenges that I tackled today were five-minute shower (small wins), no single use plastic (emptied a couple of vitamin jars + sucralose after baking), unplugged devices are still unplugged, AND I managed to collect enough rainwater to make two plants happy! 🚰
To sum up, this is today’s progress:
| SUCCESS | FAIL |
|---|---|
| Vegan food | No single-use plastic (empty vitamins) |
| Compost (coffee + tea + food scraps) | |
| Unplug devices that are not in use | |
| Five-minute shower | |
| Collect rainwater to water plants |
Fair February 
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