Plastic: It's everywhere! — Incredible Bulk

Unfortunately this blog post keeps getting updated with new stats and figures of where scientists are finding plastic.

The most recent findings are from a study of microplastics in bottled water. Due to a new nanoplastic detection method used by Columbia University researchers revealed in January 2024 that they found 10 to 100 times more nanoplastics in bottled water than had previously been documented. When testing three popular bottled water brands the study found between 110,000 and 370,000 nanoparticles, most of which were nanoplastics. Nanoplastics are less than a thousandth the width of a human hair, they are so small that they are measured in billionths of a meter.

A study in Oct 2022 found microplastics in human breast milk for the first time. The breast milk samples were taken from 34 healthy mothers, a week after giving birth in Rome, Italy. Microplastics were detected in 75% of them. As part of the study the scientists recorded the mothers’ consumption of food and drink in plastic packaging and of seafood, as well as the use of plastic-containing personal hygiene products. But unfortunately they found no correlation with the presence of microplastics.

This suggests just how exposed we are to microplastics in everyday life, as seen in previous studies.

In 2019 a study by the University of Newcastle, Australia, found that on average people could be ingesting approximately 5g of plastic every week, which is the equivalent to the weight of a credit card. It found that the single largest source of plastic ingestion was through water, both bottled and tap, all over the world.

3 newer studies on microplastics also had worrying reports on just how invasive microplastics are and the other ways we are exposed to them.

One paper published in the journal Science on the 12th June 2020 reports finding plastic in remote parts of the United States with researchers collecting samples from 11 national parks and wilderness areas. They found that more than 1,000 tons of tiny fragments rain down each year in the American West alone, equivalent to between 123 million and 300 million plastic bottles worth. Tiny bits of plastic were found in 98% of the 339 samples they collected with plastics accounting for 4% of the dust particles that were tested.

Studying both dry conditions and during periods of rain and snow, researchers concluded that the particles deposited in wet weather were likely to have originated from relatively near by, with the plastic bits swept into the air by storms from urban centres, and then falling again with the rain and snow. The smaller, lighter particles, they suggested, had, in contrast, been carried extremely long distances on currents high in the atmosphere and had become part of the cycles of global dust transport. The dry deposits constituted more than 75 percent of the plastic that was tested.

One of the researchers on the study, Dr. Brahney, commented that the phenomenon could contribute to environmental disruption of microbial communities and cause broader ecological damage. Humans could be at risk, as well, she said; The presence of so many fine particles in the air means “we’re breathing it, too.” There has not been significant study into the health effects of taking in plastic particles, though the sizes of the particles detected are consistent with the size of those that accumulate in lung tissue, she said.

Two further studies in 2020 found that its not only the air we breathe that we need to worry about but also the fruit and vegetables we eat. Two separate scientific studies have found that microplastics are contaminating the food we eat. One study, published in Science Direct focused on diet exposure, aiming to evaluate the number and the size of microplastics in the most commonly consumed vegetables and fruits, in relation to their recommended daily intake. They found that apples are the most contaminated fruit while carrots are the most affected vegetable. The report hypothesises that the microplastics enter via the plants biological systems, which is what the second report confirms. The study published in Nature Sustainably reveals plastic is being sucked up with water through the root systems of food crops. Professor Peijnenburg found microplastics are penetrating the roots of lettuce and wheat plants, after which they are transported to the edible above-ground plant parts.

Plastic Soup Foundation writes ‘for decades scientists have believed that plastic particles are too large to pass through the physical barriers of intact plant tissue. But this new research casts doubts on this.’

All studies have called for urgent research to investigate the possible effects of microplastics on human health. Previous research has shown toxic effects of microplastics in human cell lines, lab animals and marine wildlife but the impact on living humans remains unknown.

Where do these studies leave us?

Dr. Rochman, the author of the Science commentary, said that “The consequences to ecosystems are not yet well understood but are inescapable in the immediate future. If the potential dangers posed by environmental microplastics are to be mitigated, what will be required is nothing less than the engagement of the global community.”

It may seem that we’ve gone past the tipping point but reducing our exposure to plastic where we can will only lead to good things, and hopefully a future where plastic is less ubiquitous for generations to come.

As the wonderful Cal Major posted on instagram, ‘its not up to the individual alone to solve the plastic pollution crisis, but giving up single-use plastic where we can is a great step for the following reasons:

1) It does make a difference to the amount of plastic ending up in landfill, the oceans…the more people that choose to use less, the bigger the difference

2) You choosing to refuse single use plastic might just encourage someone else to as well

3) Its empowering…we can ALL do something…action is the antidote to overwhelm

4) Using plastic in the knowledge it has the potential to do harm can cause cognitive dissonance

5) By refusing to support industry that is profiting from the destruction of our natural world, we’re sending a clear message about the systemic change we want to see in our society.’

Full reports and articles:

PNAS: Rapid single-particle chemical imaging of nanoplastics by SRS microscopy

Medical News Today: Massive number of plastic particles found in bottled water. Are they harmful to health?

Guardian: Microplastics found in human breast milk for the first time

Guardian: Microplastics cause damage to human cells, study shows

The University of Newcastle: Plastic ingestion by people could be equating to a credit card a week

The New York Times: Where’s Airborne Plastic? Everywhere, Scientists Find

Science: Plastic rain in protected areas of the United States

Plastic Soup Foundation: New Studies: Microplastics found in fruit and veg

Science Direct: Micro- and nano-plastics in edible fruit and vegetables. The first diet risks assessment for the general population

Nature Sustainability: Differentially charged nanoplastics demonstrate distinct accumulation in Arabidopsis thaliana

Cal Major: Instagram