Dear Editor:
I read the recent commentary in VTDigger by Peggy Stevens, which barely scratches the surface of the issue. We are facing a problem with no solution. Plastics are already in our air, soil and water and will remain there for up to 1,000 years. They are being consumed by every living thing on Earth, from zooplankton in the Arctic to the food we eat.
Plastics flow in the ground like ink in water. One only has to look at Bennington — where a former Teflon plant contaminated drinking water wells with toxic PFOA chemicals — or the northwest Georgia carpet industry.
The latest thing is detergent pods. Some research suggests their plastic breaks down, then seeps into the ground, contaminating wells and the water we drink. Recycling itself can shed more microplastics into our waterways during processing.
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The oil companies say the health effects are not proven. Maybe we should ask the Bennington residents.
Paul Tobits
Bradford, Vt.
