Micro Plastic Pollution from Wear and Tear of Tyres

Running head: Micro Plastic Pollution from Wear and Tear of Tyres
Micro Plastic Pollution from Wear and Tear of Tyres
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Student ID

Micro Plastic Pollution from Wear and Tear of Tyres1
The essay discusses regarding the pollution caused due to micro-plastic pollution (Mason
et al., 2016). It especially emphasizes on one of the sources that causes of micro-plastic
pollution. It has been known that about 10 percent of micro-plastic found in aquatic environment
mainly comes from wear and tear of tyres (Sharma & Chatterjee, 2017). Thus, this essay
discusses the threats micro-plastic imposes on the environment, humans and the society and
suggests possible and effective polices that can reduce miro-plastic pollution occurring from
wear and tear of tyres.
Micro-plastic mainly forms from the break-down of the plastic materials like polybags,
plastic bottles and the new finding is from the wear and tear of tyres (Ghuttora, 2016). Present
day tyres are made up of both natural rubber, polymer based artificial rubber and many other
chemical components. It is the main reason due to which wear and tear of tyres produces micro-
plastics as artificial rubber is polymer based. It has been estimated that every year more than 5
million tons of micro-plastics flows into ocean water (Nationalgeographic.com, 2019)). It does
not only contaminate ocean water, it also contaminates rivers, lakes and ponds. The micro-plastic
particles are so small that they cannot be seen with bare eyes. It is the main reason that the
micro-plastic pollution causing from wear and tear of tyres remained undiscovered for so many
years (Ribeiro et al., 2018). The harmful effect of micro-plastics generated from tyres are still not
known clearly but it is known that it makes reaction with other particles when in contact and
creates harmful effects. Apart from that, various kinds of microbes got attached to the micro-
plastics creating more harmful effects. These particles are consumed by the aquatic animals and
they goy stored in their body and causing harm to them. Therefore, to aquatic animals micro-
plastics are very harmful. It has been found that in the body of 114 types of aquatic animals
micro-plastics are present. In addition to that, it has been found that almost all of 114 types of

Micro Plastic Pollution from Wear and Tear of Tyres2
aquatic animals are consumed by the humans (Cau et al,, 2019). Thus, it is very likely that these
particles are also entering the human body and can cause health issues. Alone the effect of
micro-plastic is yet to be known but by making reaction with other chemical and other particles it
creates carcinogenic chemicals (Sazakli & Leotsinidis, 2019). These particles enters mainly
through consumption of aquatic animals and exposed street food. Thus, it can be inferred that the
micro-plastics are harmful for both the aquatic animals and humans. A study finds that micro-
plastic is found in salt in China that assures that it does not only entered the food chain of aquatic
animals but also in the food chain of humans (Pubs.acs.org). Therefore, it is a grave issue that
requires immediate measures to avoid future complications both in aquatic environment and
human civilization. The volume of micro-plastics are increasing day by day with the increase in
number cars on the road and thus it is evident that the micro-plastic pollution will keep on will
keep on increasing if proper measure is not taken. A study found that small cars produce the
maximum amount of micro-plastic. It has been estimated that small cars produces 10,270 tonnes
of tyre dust or micro-plastic each year in Netherlands (Kole et al., 2019). It has been found that
the world is very much considered with the rising global warming and in order to reduce the
global warming the car companies are working on hybrid and electric cars in which fuel
consumption is less than usual. However, these cars are heavier than fuel versions and thus will
exert more pressure on tyres and causes more wear and tear and thereby causes more micro-
plastic pollution. Therefore, in order to correct one environmental issue another got aggravated.
Thus, it can be said that the micro-plastic is harmful for both aquatic animals and humans and
thereby it is unhealthy for entire environment and society. The micro-plastic particles causing
due to many reason but the concerned topic here is running of more number of cars (Rist., 2019).
The economy theory that deals with these kind of issues is known as externality.