A year ago, an international group of experts put ‘humanity on notice’ after reviewing 7,000 studies on microplastics. It concluded these tiny bits of plastic (5mm or less) are now causing toxic effects in all ecosystems. Perhaps most alarming is the discovery that microplastics have been detected in human blood, lungs and even the placenta. Meanwhile the Global Plastics Treaty, which once promised to curb microplastic contamination and save our seas and health, stalled this summer.
To help make sense of this unsettling landscape, I spoke to three scientists who have studied plastic pollution and its ripple effects on our health and environment.
Professor Fay Couceiro, an environmental pollution specialist at the University of Portsmouth, leads the Microplastics Research Group, and traces how these bits of plastic move through air, soil and water – and where they end up (spoiler: often, that’s inside us). Dr Shanna Swan, an environmental and reproductive epidemiologist based in New York, is known for her research linking plastic-derived chemicals to falling sperm counts and disrupted fertility. And Professor Heather Koldewey, head of Ocean at the Zoological Society of London, has seen firsthand how plastics are reshaping ecosystems from the tropics to the poles. Here’s are their ten top tips for limiting your exposure to microplastics…
1. Vacuum regularly
‘Most people think of plastic pollution in the form of stuff like plastic bottles,’ says Couceiro, ‘but there are also your polyester curtains and nylon carpet to consider. These shed particles that are easily inhaled.’ Portsmouth University’s Port-Eco House, a property dedicated to research, has been fitted with monitors and sensors, allowing Couceiro and her team to measure airborne microplastics. This highlighted the amount of ‘soft plastics’ quietly shedding fibres into the air we breathe. Happily, there’s a simple solution. ‘You don’t need to hoover all day, every day,’ Couceiro says. ‘Just once a day or every other day makes a meaningful difference.’
2. Wear fewer clothes for longer
Koldewey was thousands of miles away, on a research boat in the Chagos Archipelago, when she realised just how prevalent microplastics from clothing (microfibres) are and how far they can travel. There, in one of the most scarcely populated regions on earth, her research discovered high concentrations of blue and black plastic fibres from clothing. It had a big effect on Koldewey: ‘I buy far fewer clothes these days,’ she says, ‘and those I do buy tend to be made of natural fibres like cotton and bamboo. ‘A single 6kg wash of acrylic clothes can shed about 730,000 microfibres,’ Koldewey tells me, but notes that ‘studies show the amount [shed] drops as clothes get older’. So, it’s important to wear your existing wardrobe for as long as possible.
3. Open a window
Given two-thirds of clothing in the average closet is now made of plastic, even folding your laundry can release plastic fibres into the air. Couceiro runs a brilliant demo with her students: ‘I get them to put their phone face-up, black screen, and then fold clothes next to it. By the end of the session, their screens are covered in fibres.’ As a result, she recommends opening a window when you’re hoovering or folding laundry. ‘Ventilation is hugely important,’ she says. Except if you live near a main road. ‘If you live next to a dual carriageway, opening the window might introduce more pollutants than it removes.’
4. Avoid heating food in plastic
Heating up food up in plastic containers is an absolute no-no for Swan. ‘You don’t ever want to put food inside plastic and then warm it in any way, because the containers do not hold the polymers in heat, and they leave the containers and go into the food and then go into us.’ Couceiro, who noticed her own plastic soup mug had developed white rings from being in the microwave, agrees. ‘Those marks show heat damage and that’s where it was releasing particles,’ she says. Now she keeps the old soup mug for show-and-tell and has switched to ceramic and glass.
5. Decant your microwave meals
Plastic films used to cover ready meals are another culprit. ‘You are told to pierce the lid and microwave it, but the film’s already been stressed and is starting to fragment,’ Couceiro says. Her fix? ‘Just decant the food into a ceramic bowl and put a plate on top. It traps steam the same way but reduces your exposure significantly.’
6. Swerve plastic kitchen tools
Those plastic spatulas and spoons in your kitchen drawer? They’re bad news. ‘I’m watching out for anywhere that plastic coating is being used as a barrier, such as plastic-coated cookware or utensils, because that barrier will contain PFAS,’ says Swan. PFAS are also known as ‘forever chemicals’ due to the way they linger in the human body, building up around the kidneys and liver where they can have a detrimental impact on our immune function. Instead of plastic kitchenware, Swan recommends that we opt for stainless steel or wood.
7. Take five seconds to rinse your fruit
‘If you’re going to eat the skin of something, like an apple or a pear, just rinse it before eating,’ says Couceiro. ‘Even if it’s been sitting in plastic packaging, rinsing can help reduce the number of microplastic particles.’
8. Beware the ugly side of beauty
‘I don’t wear make-up, and I don’t do my nails,’ says Swan. While few of us will be prepared to go this far in avoiding chemicals, there are a few things you should be aware of when it comes to plastics in cosmetics. ‘Nobody wants to rub plastics on their face or swallow plastics by choice, but you have to look carefully at ingredients,’ says Koldewey. The Yuka app is great for identifying potential toxins in grooming products. Since 2018 it has been illegal for manufacturers to formulate using microbeads in wash-off personal-care products. This may have given us a false sense of security, because microplastics still sneak into leave-on products. ‘Your exfoliating scrub might be fine, but your blusher or lipstick could still contain plastic. And if it’s something you put in or around your mouth – like lipstick or dental products – that’s where ingestion becomes a real possibility,’ says Couceiro.
9. Limit kids’ contact with plastic
‘I have two children,’ Couceiro says, ‘and I ensure they’re not surrounded by plastic all the time. They have teddies – some are plastic, which is unavoidable – but their bedding is all cotton and I don’t have carpets in their bedrooms [though wool, jute, sisal and seagrass are all great floor coverings without the microplastic load].’
10. Be conscious before conceiving
Whereas it might be costly and impractical to rid everyday life of plastic, Swan thinks that there is one time you should focus one hundred per cent on a plastic purge – when trying to conceive. She says men should reduce exposure to harmful chemicals (avoiding almost all plastics) at least three months beforehand, because that’s how long it takes for new sperm to form. Once pregnant, the baton passes to the woman. At this point the fetus is especially sensitive to chemical exposure – and what the mother is exposed to can affect the baby’s lifelong health.
But our experts all stressed that nobody should feel under pressure to throw out all their plastics and make costly painful interventions. ‘Nobody should beat themselves up for imperfect choices,’ says Koldewey, ‘My advice is to identify the hardest things to change, then decide if you’re ready to give them up or find alternatives.’