Scientists all over the world have declared microplastics a significant threat to our health.

Not only endanger microplastics marine animals and ecosystems. They can also enter our food chain and end up on our plates.

As a result, traces of microplastics have already been found in human blood, lungs, brains, and even breast milk.

This article will explore the sources of microplastics, how they end up in our diet, and what you can do to reduce the risk of consuming them.

What are Microplastics

Firstly, let’s differentiate microplastics and nanoplastics. While microplastics are pieces of plastics with sizes between 5 mm and 1 μm (micrometer).

That’s already pretty small. To give you an idea about this range:

• 5mm is about the size of a regular pencil eraser (5mm)
• 1 μm is smaller than a red blood cell (6-8 μm).

Nanoplastics are even smaller than 1 μm and are thus measured in 1-1000 nanometers. They are microscopically small and can enter food chains even easier (To make this article more legible, you can just assume that whenever we mention microplastics below, the same applies to nanoplastics as well).

Both microplastics and nanoplastics originate from primary and secondary sources.

Primary microplastics are plastics that spill into the environment in their original tiny form. Examples can be spilled production granulate, microbeads in cosmetics, medical nano sensors, or liquid microplastics.

Secondary microplastics stem from bigger plastic items that are littered ad then break down through abrasion or other external factors. There are many examples, but just think of a littered plastic bottle in the ocean that is exposed to sunlight, waves, and sand, which slowly removes small pieces of plastic from the bottle into the environment.

How do microplastics end up in our diet?

While all plastics are potentially dangerous, microplastics are especially sneaky, because of their small size.

There are two main ways how microplastics can end up in our diet

1. They find their way up the food chain

Microplastics are easily ingested by a wide range of animals, who mistake the little plastic pieces as food, spanning from plankton to bigger fish.

The problem is: humans nowadays are the apex predators of most food chains. Once microplastics find their way into the smallest animals, they easily find their way up the food chain and into our diets.

You can easily imagine this by thinking about a little shrimp that eats plankton contaminated with microplastics. That shrimp then gets eaten by a small fish, which gets eaten by a bigger fish, which again gets eaten by a Tuna, which in the end gets eaten by us.

Not surprisingly, a study from 2020 found microplastics in 99% of examined fish.

But microplastics don’t even stop with animals. They have also been found in produce. Think about your fruits and vegetables growing in contaminated soil. As they absorb water and nutrients from the soil, there is a good chance that microplastics are absorbed by the plant as well.

• They leak from larger plastic items into our diet

While consuming contaminated food is a main source for microplastics, that’s not the only way they find their way onto our plates.

Take a look around your kitchen and think about your daily routine. Plastic is everywhere around us. From the toothbrush we use in the morning, to the takeout coffee we get on the way to work, to the cutting board we use to prepare our dinner.

Whenever our food gets into contact with plastics, there is a good chance that some of the plastic particles leach into the food, finally being consumed.

Consequentially, microplastics have been found in many parts of the body, from feces to lungs, to blood and even breastmilk.

Now you may ask yourself “Why consuming plastic is actually a problem?”.

Why are microplastics dangerous?

Microplastics are problematic, because they literally poison your body with chemicals.

Not only do all microplastics contain dangerous chemicals, but they can also absorb chemicals from the environment.

As a result, plastic exposure has been linked to hundreds of medical conditions from asthma, to cancer, to visual impairment.

Many of the medical studies conducted in the past decade cite so-called endocrine disrupting chemicals as a main contributor to plastic-related diseases.

Chemicals like bisphenols, phthalates and PFAS, which can be found in many everyday plastic items qualify as endocrine disruptors.

Endocrine disruptors confuse the hormone system of the body and harm the body by changing the hormone composition. As a result, they can cause many cancers, fertility issues, and other hormone related diseases.

Additionally, microplastics can absorb other toxic chemicals such as heavy metals and organic pollutants from the environment, which can affect the body.

How can you reduce the problem?

By now, you probably think about ways to limiting your microplastics exposure. While completely banning plastic from your life will unfortunately be difficult, there are simple steps you can take to at least reduce the problem.

1. Reduce plastic use by opting for reusable alternatives to single use plastics made of less harmful materials like cotton, bamboo, or aluminum
2. Ensure proper disposal of plastic waste to prevent it from entering the environment
3. Support legislation and petitions that reduce the use of plastics
4. Spread awareness and educate others about the dangerous effects of microplastics
5. Stay alert and go through your day with an open eye about potential sources of microplastics

For more information on how to life a life with less waste, check out our guides for your home, fashion & beauty, and travelling.

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Author: Lars is the co-owner of SWOP – shop without plastic, a zero-waste online shop and blog. He is passionate about protecting the environment and educating about plastic pollution.