Credits: Social Media
Sand literally gets everywhere, and its even in some of your favorite products
People are only just learning that sand is the second most used natural resource on the planet, meaning it’s present in everything from the building you’re sitting in, to the phone in your hand.
In 2024, most of us are aware of the effect we have on the planet, with plastics now pervading everything and the planet slowly coming to a boi. We need to save as much of the planet as possible, and part of that is cutting back on the natural resources we rip from Mother Nature.
Sand really does get in everywhere
During a recent episode of the Everything I Know About podcast (@eika_pod), hosts Chloe Zhao and Jennifer Dobak unpacked the second most mined natural resource, sand.
“Sand is the second-most consumed natural resource in the world after freshwater,” Chloe told her co-host, earning a shocked response as she thought it was oil and gas. “So sand is a fundamental ingredient in concrete, so all of our construction has it.”
Chloe continued to explain that sand is also used in the process of making every kind of glass and even the silicon chips in our phones. Even consumer products like toothpaste contain silica, which is made from sand.
Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on your angle, sand comes in many varieties with various uses. For instance, the sand required for glass is often “soft white beach sand”, while riverbed sand is typically used for concrete thanks to its grittier texture.
While you might wonder why it’s so difficult, given the mass amounts of sand in deserts like the Sahara, such minerals can’t be used because it’s too silky due to air erosion.
“It also creates lots of problems because when Dubai was building their tallest building in the world, they had to import sand from Australia even though they are surrounded by desert,” Chloe continued.
In Singapore, where there is no naturally occurring sand, officials were forced to import huge amounts of it to literally expand their borders by dumping it on the beach. As such, and after Indonesia lost two dozen islands to the practice, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam have banned the export of sand to Singapore.
Because the human race uses 50 billion tons of sand a year, with that number only increasing, experts predict that we will run out of construction-grade sand by 2050.
‘Yet another way we’re wrecking the planet’
While most TikTok users were shocked to learn of the many ways that sand is used, lots struggled to come to terms with another way we are destroying the planet.
“Im so tired of finding out about yet another industry where nothing is being done sustainably smh,” one person admitted.
Another said: “Ive been telling this to people for years and the way people laugh it off because they dont understand the extent of what sand is used in baffles me.”
A third pointed out: “The fact that desert sand cant be used is maddening. Kinda like not being able to drink the ocean.”
