By LISA MIKITKA

Special to The Press

The Parkland Garden Club hosted Daniel Hart, a volunteer Penn State Master Watershed Steward, at their Sept. 9 meeting at the Jordan Lutheran Church, Orefield.

Hart said 20 hours of training and volunteer hours in the field and classroom are required to become a steward, sponsored by the Penn State College of Agriculture.

Hart discussed “Drowning in Plastic,” providing an overview of plastic and microplastic pollution in the waterways.

He said plastic pollution began in the 1950s when the first disposable products and single use items originated.

The first “Life” article appeared 70 years ago promoting the time saving benefit of such items for 1950s households, basically eliminating the washing and reusing of items used daily.

Hart then presented some facts about the amount of waste currently generated, such as 7 billion tons of plastic since 1950, and each person disposes 600 times their body weight of plastic during their lifetime.

Most of this plastic ends up in the oceans as microplastics.

Microplastics are particles smaller than 5 mm across and the largest types are fibers, textiles diapers and wipes.

Plastic can degrade into many little pieces with UV light.

Poor waste management, street runoff, cosmetics, illegal garbage dumping and fishing nets and lines and lost ship materials are the major contributors.

Hart also discussed how plastics get into the food chain and attract potentially toxic chemicals in the water and concentrate them in wildlife.

They then transfer in the food chain to humans.

This translates into endocrine disturbances, hormonal disturbances, reproductive and developmental disturbances and effects, he said.

A plastic beverage bottle and a diaper take 450 years to degrade and fishing lines take 600 years.

Hart said there have been recently passed laws taking beads of plastic out of toothpaste and cosmetics.

There have been plastic bag bans and there are pending efforts to phase out single use items, such as plastic utensils.

He suggested avoiding purchasing or using these items and looking for less plastic wrapping in purchases.

Hart also suggested purchasing more cotton clothing items, as all synthetic items shed microplastics in the washer and eventually get into the environment and waterways.

Microfiber filters are available for washing machines to help collect these particles.

He stated only 9 percent of qualified materials are recycled.

He ended his presentation by stating consumers can help by stopping personal demand for these plastic and synthetic items which continue to leach into the waterways.

Also, he reinforced education is a very effective way to help combat this pollution.

The Parkland Garden Club meets on the second Monday of each month at Jordan Lutheran Church, 5103 Snowdrift Road, Orefield.

Guests are welcome to attend.

New members are always welcome.

For Parkland Garden Club’s activities and events, go to parklandgardenclub.com.