Yikes, This Is How Many Microplastics We Eat A Year + 3 Ways To Stop It

Think about the number of times throughout the day you see others using single-use plastic (bottles, lids, straws, bags) or use it yourself—take-out containers, shipping material, and packaged foods.

I don't know about you, but all I'm seeing is plastic, which makes sense as a study published in Science Advances found that since large-scale production of plastic began 60 years ago, 8.3 billion metric tons of plastic has been produced.

The same study found that 6.3 billion metric tons became plastic waste, and only 9% had been recycled. This means 79% was left to decompose in landfills or ended up as litter in the environment. So what does this mean for us and this planet?

Once plastic begins to break down (which can take more than 400 years), it turns into microfibers (made of plastic and chemical-covered non-plastics) that are so small we can't see them. Due to their size, it's easy for animals to ingest these microplastics and, according to a new study, humans too.

This new study1 published by the ACS journal Environmental Science & Technology wanted to figure out how many microplastics humans may be consuming. They compared the number of microplastics found in things like fish, shellfish, alcohol, tap and bottled water, and air to the recommended daily intakes for the American diet. They estimated that the average person in the U.S. is consuming more than 70,000 microplastic particles per year and even more for those who drink only bottled water instead of tap. 

There are many ways microplastics can get into our bodies. If we're eating seafood, there's a chance the marine animal has ingested microplastics2, and those particles may get into our system. Plastic particles can also rub off of packaging when we are eating food out of plastic or drinking out of a plastic water bottle. In terms of the air? The verdict is still out on how many particles may be floating around, but a recent study found microplastics3 to be present on a remote mountaintop in France if that's any indication.

Plastic turns into microplastic, so by reducing your consumption of single-use plastics you'll play a part in reducing the number of plastic particles in the environment. We recently heard from the mbg editors about ways they reduce plastic in their lives, and they've got some easy tips that are worth checking out.