How we are contaminating our waters with microplastics and a multitude of chemicals
Tuesday, June 6, 2023 - 12:23
in Earth & Climate
A plastic sandwich wrapper bobs in the water where the Limmat River flows out of Lake Zurich. The current carries it downstream through Zurich's historic center before eventually depositing it on the bank of Werd island. Exposed to sunlight, it gradually breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces, which the rain then washes back into the river. Pebbles on the bed of the Limmat grind the fragments of plastic into even smaller pieces until they are all but invisible to the naked eye. What started out as a sandwich wrapper has now turned into microplastic.