Should I worry about microplastics?

These tiny particles are polluting the planet, including our bodies. How bad for us are they really?

Microplastics are everywhere. These tiny pieces of plastic – the usual definition is anything under 5mm in length – are a by-product of the over-production of synthetic polymers, and there is increasing evidence that they are infiltrating the entire ecosystem. A recent study found them in 90% of protein types sampled by researchers, while a study from 2020 found them in fruit and vegetables. Another study, published this year suggests that bottled water could contain up to 100 times the amount of plastic particles previously thought, and some studies have even found microplastics in prenatal human placentas. So is this an unstoppable problem? Are there implications for our health that we are only just beginning to see? And if so, is it already too late to do anything about it?

To start with the bad news: yes, the problem is worse than previously thought. “Everyone knew there were microplastics in our sea water and on our beaches, but we’re now finding them in the freshwater system and as far afield as the Arctic,” says Prof Catherine Wilson, an expert in microplastics at the School of Engineering, Cardiff University. “This is raising questions about how they are being transported in the air. We’re also seeing – as we use recycled sludge, a nutrient-rich waste product from sewage treatment, as a fertiliser in agriculture – that microplastics are being recycled in the environment, which may mean they are building up in the soil on farmland.”