Microplastics: What They Are and Why We Need to Talk About Them

What are microplastics? Where are they found?

Scientists are finding microplastics - tiny particles of plastic less than 5mm in size - everywhere they look.

• Microplastics are in rain water, tap and bottled water.
• They are in beer, salt, seafood and crops.
• They are in the air we breathe.
• They are in clouds and the ocean, on uninhabited islands and otherwise pristine Arctic rivers.  

We're now geologically living in the Plasticene Era, where a layer of plastic pollution is detectable across the planet.

Even more concerning? Humans are estimated to consume around 5 grams of plastic a week - about the weight of a credit card. Microplastics and nanoplastics have been found in human waste of people around the globe. But they don't just go through us. Some of it sticks around and accumulates in our bodies.

Plastic particles have been detected in the blood of around 80% of those tested. They're regularly found throughout our bodies, including in placentas, breast milk, joints, hearts and lungs, reproductive organs - and one new study is pronouncing they have detected plastic in our brains.

How do microplastics affect the human body?

Research into the long-term health impacts is still in its early stages, but many of the chemicals used in plastics are already known to be carcinogenic and hormone-disrupting. Microplastics can disrupt the gut microbiome and cause inflammation, impacting the whole body via the immune system and the complex gut-brain communication system. And they harm our wildlife and marine animals, too. 

While the full picture is still emerging, the evidence so far suggests this isn’t something we should ignore.

Plastic production isn’t slowing down.

Meanwhile, we continue to produce plastic at ever-increasing rates. Global plastic production for 2025 was estimated to be around 500 MILLION metric tons, despite ongoing concerns about pollution and a low recycling rate of less than 10% globally. A significant portion in the growth of plastic production is for single-use items. 

SO WHAT CAN WE DO?

Human exposure seems virtually unavoidable, but until legislation catches up, the most practical action we can take is to reduce our use of plastic, particularly unnecessary single-use plastics, to: 

• Prevent more waste from entering landfill and the environment
• Reduce demand for plastic 
• Lower you and your family's exposure.

And that’s where we’ll start.

Stay tuned for Part 2, Eco Warrior!  

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All our blog articles written by Rachel or our Guest Bloggers are well researched and 100% written by a real human person. We hope you have been informed, educated or entertained.

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