bloomberg news article on plastic in domestic paint

Interesting article below by Olivia Rudgard at Bloomberg News about the issue of Microplastics in domestic Paint. 🤔 

This Bloomberg News article (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-07-19/your-house-paint-is-causing-an-ocean-plastic-problem?accessToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzb3VyY2UiOiJTdWJzY3JpYmVyR2lmdGVkQXJ0aWNsZSIsImlhdCI6MTY4OTg0MjYwMiwiZXhwIjoxNjkwNDQ3NDAyLCJhcnRpY2xlSWQiOiJSWTFLNkhEV1gyUFQwMSIsImJjb25uZWN0SWQiOiI1RTUzMTc1QURCQ0U0Mjk2QTQ2NTE0OEQ2MTVBN0YyNSJ9.uvhUoRdRnLcUM9T2hxXPCHcAItmQHDDT7JDYFcmHHd8) raises awareness that #PaintIsPlastic, and that we need to find solutions to the problem of Mismanaged Paint - the biggest source of Microplastics in the environment (The Pew Charitable Trusts - https://lnkd.in/eS3VMRga).

Domestic paints contain "only" a relatively low percentage of plastic, up to 5%, because their function is primarily decorative. 

Marine and Industrial paints, on the other hand, which make up about 36% of total Ocean Microplastic Leakage (Paruta et al., 2022), comprise 50%+ plastic. This is because the paint's primary function is to protect the object, which is a positive. What is not so positive however, is that an important proportion of this paint ends up in the environment, and most often the Ocean, at the time of paint application, during maintenance, and at end-of-life of the painted object i.e. Mismanaged Paint.

As a result, EA - Environmental Action estimated total Paint Microplastic Leakage at 1.9m tonnes in 2019, or 58% of Total Microplastic Leakage into the Ocean - more than Microplastic leakage from tyres, textiles and pellets put together.

Articles like Olivia Rudgard's help draw public and business attention to this important issue, which will in turn incite policy makers and regulators to take action. 👏
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