Tinsel and glitter a pollution problem
Think before buying glittery Christmas decorations, a scientist says.
Tinsel and glitter can end up in the sea, potentially harming marine life, and ESR scientist Dr Olga Pantos said shoppers could help.
‘‘The majority of decorations now seem to be plastic and a lot seem to be covered in glitter, which rubs off quite easily.’’
Microplastics, which include beads, fibres and fragments like glitter, are a globally significant environmental pollutant.
Pantos said when she visited some stores recently, she was met with glitter, tinsel and all things plastic. ‘‘It was just phenomenal. It was almost impossible to find anything that didn’t have glitter.’’
She knew of a masters student in Christchurch who was finding glitter, along with synthetic fibres and fragments, in the city’s wastewater.
‘‘I don’t believe that everything needs to be covered in glitter, we lived a long time without that, and everything looked nice.’’
It was up to shoppers to choose items which were not going to harm the environment, she said.
‘‘There needs to be more education about all things regarding plastics and knowing the price of the full life cycle of that product that you’re buying.’’
Facial cleansers with microbeads, which are now banned in New Zealand, were previously used with abandon.
But now that people knew how they harmed the environment they did not want those products any more, and it could be the same with glitter, tinsel and other plastics, she said.
There were many practical steps people could take to reduce the amount of plastic entering the environment.
Reusable wax wraps and plastic containers were a better option than disposable plastic food packaging.