The Sentinel Self

ethylene and phthalate, both gaseous products that are produced in large quantities at oil refineries.

includes petroleum, a natural product that at some unclear point in our historical timeline forms into complex mixtures which humans use to make petroleum products on a massive scale. This is particularly common in the 20^th and early 21^st centuries prior to developing wiser, harmless, free energy methods for mass energy consumption. PET can also hail from biomass directly, in what’s known as biobased feedstock, or starting materials. Then PET is called ‘bioPET’ despite there being nothing much biological about this plastic product. The PET, even if from different feedstocks (such as petroleum, fresh biomass, or waste PET), is the same PET material, same PET properties.

Starting out in most cases as a solid bulk material, PET assumes its well-known microplastic fragment format within only a few days to years of product use.  PET is also available as microbeads – it’s already microplastic when it hits the market in that case.

PET engages in a variety of products numbering in the millions. Example applications include textiles (clothing), food contact materials, packaging, glitter, drum skins etc. Its plastic recycling code is No. 1. PET bottles are most often recycled into textiles such as synthetic fleece. Fleece releases microplastic fibers during wear and laundering. PET fibers swirl through the air and water looking for a place for a pit stop. Sometimes they end up in someone’s body.

... packaging, drinking bottles, polar fleeces and other textiles (carpets, boat sails, stuffing), end of life pollution of waterways and city streets. Known to engage in conflicts with immune system cells.

PET is appreciated for its high impermeability to oxygen and low water absorption, both of which are good for carbonated beverages;  relatively profitable recyclability, e.g. polar fleeces from recycled PET bottles; 8.4% of all plastics demand in the EU is for PET.

PET's single use applications (e.g. disposables) and especially packaging, lack of biodegradability have not been met with critical acclaim. Main plastic market rival is PEF (polyethylene furanoate), a biobased polymer produced by Avantium. PET microplastic was recently detected in the human bloodstream, as well as in cow’s and pig’s blood and livestock feed. PET can be absorbed into bodies and contaminate the lifeblood.

Message in a Plastic Bottle (2015) a film featuring a kayak made of single-use plastic bottle waste https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5138778/

https://www.petcore-europe.org/
https://plasticseurope.org/knowledge-hub/plastics-the-facts-2021/
https://www.plasticsoupfoundation.org/en/2022/07/80-of-cow-and-pig-meat-blood-and-milk-contains-plastic/
Discovery and quantification of plastic particle pollution in human blood: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412022001258