MICROPLASTICS ON OUR DINNER TABLE

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Today, one of the most dangerous rubbish in the world is micro plastic. It may not make the world heat up, but micro plastic attack humans directly. They enter through tiny forms that are hard to see with the naked eye. Suddenly, they accumulate in the body, entering through various things, including from all the dishes on our dinner table plates.

Micro plastic, or plastic fragments less than five millimetres long, lurk in our oceans, air, food and even drinking water. While humans are constantly inhaling and ingesting it, increasing the likelihood of experiencing whole-body inflammation, neurological effects, DNA damage and weakened immune responses.

People consume an average of five grams of micro plastic every week, depending on age and gender, according to the study. Don’t underestimate it, because those five grams of micro plastic are actually all around us.

Teabag Paper Cups

Think again if you want to drink teabags right now, because the plastic lining to glue the teabag turns out to contain micro plastic. Researchers have found that every cup of tea brewed using plastic tea bags, releases about 11.6 billion micro plastic and 3.1 billion nano plastics.

Not only harmful to the environment, but according to a 2023 study from Dow University of Health Sciences in Pakistan, when combined with hot water, teabags will release a huge amount of micro plastic.

Teabags can also contain other harmful substances, including fluorine compounds, arsenic, radium salts, aluminium, copper, lead, mercury, cadmium, barium and nitrate.

Paper cups used to hold tea and other hot drinks also leach micro plastic. While they may seem like a suitable alternative to plastic and styrofoam cups, paper cups may indeed be a greener solution. But it turns out that the inside of the cup, which is coated with a sealant, usually contains up to 10 per cent high-density polyethylene (HDPE).

A single-use paper cup (100 ml) with a plastic coating can release around 25,000 micron-sized micro plastic particles in the hot liquid it holds.

Microwave Plastic

The heat-resistant plastic containers in the microwave also release microplastics into food.

In 2023, a team of researchers from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln found that microwaving baby food in plastic containers can release more than two billion nano plastic and four million micro plastic per square centimetre of container.

The researchers concluded that toddlers who consumed microwaved dairy product, and infants who drank microwaved water/drinks absorbed the highest relative concentrations of plastics.

Plastic chopping boards

Experts also recommend using plastic-free glass or bamboo chopping boards, as plastic chopping boards also leach micro plastic into food.

A study reviewed in 2023 reported that chopping on polypropylene cutting boards released more micro plastic (5-60 per cent greater mass and 14-71 per cent more micro plastic count) than polyethylene cutting boards.

Using a polythene cutting board can result in an annual exposure of seven to about 51 grams of micro plastic per person, while a polypropylene board can result in an exposure of 49.5 grams.

In terms of quantity, polyethylene boards can release between 14.5 to about 72 million micro plastic per year, while polypropylene boards can release nearly 80 million.

Micro plastic are almost impossible to avoid as they touch every aspect of our lives. Hence, more and more studies are examining how they affect human health.

When micro plastic enter the body, they are perceived as foreign intruders, triggering an immune response similar to fighting a virus or bacteria. However, unlike viruses or bacteria, the body cannot break down micro plastic, leading to ongoing inflammation. This chronic inflammation is a significant problem as it is linked to diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular problems and cancer, which are leading causes of death.

Writer : Sulung Prasetyo

Image : pexels/xmtnguyen