We humans take in microplasty every day - through food, drinking water or just breathing. Up to five grams of these tiny particles enter the body every week, depending on the circumstances of life. This is appreciated at least by researchers from the University of Newcastle (Australia), who have taken a closer look at existing studies on behalf of the environmental foundation WWF.
The data are based on microplastics smaller than five millimetres found in the air we breathe, in drinking water, in salt, beer and shellfish. Microplasty, which is recorded by other means, was not included in the Australian analysis. Fish was also excluded by the researchers despite available data, since it is not clear how much microplastic is eaten during consumption and how much remains in the offal of the animals.
According to the researchers, we record most of the microplasty in drinking water. According to scientists, bottled water is even more polluted than tap water. But there are also regional differences: in the USA, for example, water is twice as contaminated with plastic as it is in Europe. The environmentalists therefore demand: "If we don't want plastic in our bodies, we must prevent millions of tons of plastic waste from ending up in nature every year". Once microplasty has spread in nature, it can no longer be reversed.
