Do you know what microplastics are?

Microplastics have been detected in commercial table salt and some studies assure that 90% of bottled water and 83% of tap water contain plastic particles, this worries the UN, as little is known about the impact of this material in human health.

Microplastics are very small pieces of plastic that pollute the environment.

Then, microplastics come from a wide variety of sources, such as tires, cosmetic or cleaning products, clothing, everyday plastic waste, industrial processes.

It is estimated that between 2% and 5% of all manufactured plastics end up in the oceans. Some of them do it in the form of microplastics.

At the same time, microplastics come from a variety of sources, including from larger plastic debris that degrades into smaller and smaller pieces.

In addition, microbeads, a type of microplastic, are very tiny pieces of manufactured polyethylene plastic. That are added as exfoliants to health and beauty products, such as some cleansers and toothpastes.

There’s also an emerging field of research looking at nanoplastics – pieces too small to see with the naked eye – which are measured in nanometres (there are 1,000 nanometres in one micrometre).

These tiny particles easily pass through water filtration systems and end up in the ocean and Great Lakes, posing a potential threat to aquatic life.

Around the world, researchers are only now beginning to examine the impacts of plastics on the health of animals, after a swathe of studies identified the many species that were interacting with microplastics.

How can we reduce the use of plastic?