TABLE OF CONTENTS
What are Plastics, Microplastics, Nanoplastics?
How Are We Exposed to Microplastics?
What Needs to Be Done About the Plastic Problem?
Plastic Myth Busters
These are some of the top myths you will hear from the plastics industry, an offshoot of the oil and gas industry, and their proponents.
- Myth: Plastics with the chasing arrows recycle symbol means the plastic can be recycled. Recycling is the solution to the plastic pollution problem. Truth: Most plastic products cannot be or are not recycled.
- Myth: “Food grade” plastics are safe. Truth: Plastics labeled as “food grade” can leach toxic chemicals and shed microplastic particles.
- Myth: You’ll expel any microplastics consumed through your urine. Truth: Peer-reviewed studies prove that microplastics are bioaccumulating in every major organ in the human body, even the brain.
WHAT ARE PLASTICS, MICROPLASTICS, NANOPLASTICS?
Plastics are synthetic materials derived primarily from petrochemicals. They are created by polymerizing organic compounds, forming long chains of molecules that give plastics their characteristic durability and flexibility. Common ingredients in plastics include monomers like ethylene and propylene, stabilizers, plasticizers, and dyes, which are added to modify their properties. Plastics are categorized into several types, including thermoplastics (e.g., polyethylene, polystyrene) and thermosetting plastics (e.g., epoxy resins, polyurethanes), each designed for specific uses and applications.
Plastics are ubiquitous in food packaging and consumer products. They are used to manufacture containers, utensils, and wraps. They can also be found as coatings for containers such as paper beverage cups and inside metal soup cans. In consumer goods, plastics serve as the primary material for electronics, furniture, textiles, and personal care items such as tampons. Common synthetic fabrics used to make our clothing such as nylon and polyester, are actually made of plastics!
Over time, through regular use, and when exposed to elements such as heat and sunlight, plastic items will fragment and shed microplastics and nanoplastics.
Microplastics are any plastic particles less than 5 millimeters in size. The size of a standard six-sided dice is 5 – 10 millimeters. The thickness of an eraser at the end of a standard pencil is around 5 – 6 millimeters.
Nanoplastics are generally defined as plastic particles smaller than one micrometer in size, smaller than human eyes can see. The width of a human hair is approximately 80 micrometers. A speck of dust is approximately 50 micrometers.
We will generally refer to all plastic particles as microplastics for the remainder of this article.
BRIEF HISTORY OF PLASTICS
Polystyrene, or PS, was discovered by Eduard Simon in 1839.
The first man-made plastic, called Parkesine, was created by Alexander Parkes who demonstrated the product at the 1862 Great International Exhibition in London.
In 1872, polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, was created by Eugen Baumann.
The mass production of plastics began during the 1940s to produce armaments for World War II.
Dow Chemical introduced Saran Wrap in 1953. And in 1954, Ray McIntire invented Styrofoam (polystyrene foam) for Dow Chemical.
Since the 1960s, plastics increasingly became a mainstay in the production of consumer goods.
Monsanto (now Bayer-Monsanto) produced the first-ever plastic soda bottle for Coca-Cola in the 1970s, which they marketed as the “Easy Goer” bottle. The bottles contained a carcinogenic chemical, acrylonitrile, but were quickly approved for use by the FDA based on data that showed that the chemical didn’t leach into the beverage. The FDA banned the bottle 2 years later, finding that acrylonitrile did, in fact, leach into the beverage. The original approval was based on data provided by… drumroll… Monsanto.
In fact, you may be surprised to learn that these regulatory procedures continue today. Our regulatory agencies like the FDA (Food & Drug Administration) and EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) do not perform their own studies on the products of industry. The agencies rely on research provided by the same corporations that stand to profit from the products they produce, creating obvious conflicts of interest.
Monsanto’s corporate behavior, deceiving regulators and the public, continues to this day as companies like ExxonMobil, the largest U.S. manufacturer of plastics, and other manufacturers, lie about the health and environmental harms of the plastic products they produce.
HOW ARE WE EXPOSED TO MICROPLASTICS?
Ingestion
“What’s for dinner, honey?”
“Your favorite, dear… we’re having MasterCard!”
Our food, drinking water, and beverages are likely the largest sources of our exposure to microplastics. This is due to contamination from environmental pollution and the plastic products we use to serve and store food and drinks.
A 2019 study found individuals who meet their recommended water intake through only bottled sources may be ingesting an additional 90,000 microplastics annually, compared to 4,000 microplastics for those who consume only tap water.
A 2022 study found that all plastics tested released nanoplastics. The authors chose to focus the study on two types of plastic: “food-grade” nylon bags and coffee cups lined with low-density polyethylene. They found that the materials released more nanoplastics as the water temperature rose, up to trillions of fragments.
An 2022 pilot study detected microplastics in the meat, milk and blood of farm animals.
A 2024 study found that 99% of the seafood tested — black rockfish, lingcod, Chinook salmon, Pacific herring, Pacific lamprey, and pink shrimp, purchased in the store or from a fishing boat — were contaminated with microplastics.
Should we all go vegan? Americans do not eat nearly enough vegetables and fruits. But that’s not a fix for the microplastic problem.
The plants that we eat can also uptake microplastics through their roots, according to a 2020 study, exposing humans and animals to the microplastics and the toxic chemicals they release. Another 2020 study confirmed that microplastics are, in fact, in the vegetables and fruit we all eat. The study found microplastics in the foods tested (carrots, lettuce, broccoli, potatoes, apples, and pears), with the highest contamination levels found in carrots and shockingly, apples.
“Can you pass the salt?” Not so fast…
A 2022 study found the most microplastics in coarse Himalayan pink salt mined from the ground, followed by black salt and marine salt.
And don’t forget that it’s not just the microplastic particles that are of great concern. The microplastics leach toxic chemicals as well.
A 2023 study found that fluorinated high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic containers contain PFAS, including the highly toxic perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) as detected in ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise tested. “Not only did we measure significant concentrations of PFAS in these containers, we can estimate the PFAS that were leaching off creating a direct path of exposure,” said Graham Peaslee, professor of physics in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Notre Dame and an author of the study. “We measured concentrations of PFOA that significantly exceeded the limit set by the EPA’s 2022 Health Advisory Limits,” said Peaslee. “Now, consider that not only do we know that the chemicals are migrating into the substances stored in them, but that the containers themselves work their way back into the environment through landfills. PFAS doesn’t biodegrade. It doesn’t go away. Once these chemicals are used, they get into the groundwater, they get into our biological systems, and they cause significant health problems.”
Virgin plastics are bad. Recycled plastics are even worse.
A 2022 study published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials found that widely-used PET recycled plastic bottles pass more toxic chemicals into their contents than virgin plastic bottles. They found that of the 150 toxic chemicals that leached into drinks from recycled plastic bottles, 18 were at levels exceeding regulations.
These are only a small sample of the peer-reviewed studies that have been published in recent years on microplastics in food. You get the picture. Microplastics have contaminated nearly everything we eat.
Inhalation
Say it isn’t so. Yes, we are breathing microplastics and can be exposed in various indoor and outdoor settings, according to a 2024 study.
The clothes on your back, if not made of natural materials like cotton, hemp, silk, or wool, are synthetic and made of plastic. The most common synthetic fabrics that you’ll recognize are acrylic, nylon, polyamide, polyester, and spandex. You may also encounter synthetic fabrics under brand names such as Dacron, made by DuPont, and Gore-Tex. The synthetic textiles used for upholstery and carpets are also plastic.
Synthetic fabrics and textiles all release microplastics, also called microfibers, into the air under normal wear. Surprisingly, wearing synthetic clothing releases just as many microfibers into the air as washing. Similarly, just walking across a carpet can throw up microplastics into the air. A whopping 33% of indoor dust is microplastics from textiles! And a 2021 UK study found airborne microplastic concentrations inside homes was 45 times greater than that of outdoor air.
Dermal Absorption
Though it could be hypothesized that nanoplastics of a small enough size could potentially pass through the skin, there have been no studies that we could find showing this to be the case.
But don’t breathe that sigh of relief yet.
A 2024 study found the toxic chemicals that leach out of plastics can be absorbed through human skin. The study found plastic additives used as flame retardants (PBDEs) can cross the skin barrier to reach the bloodstream. The study also noted that sweaty skin enhances the dermal bioavailability of some PBDEs.
As mentioned previously, toxic PFAS chemicals are used in certain types of plastic storage containers. You also may have heard of phthalates, chemicals used as plasticizers – substances added to plastics to increase their flexibility, transparency, durability, and longevity. Another chemical class commonly found in plastics is Bisphenols, such as BPA.
All of these toxic chemicals can be absorbed through the skin.
Human Health Concerns
There are two primary health concerns with microplastics that are inextricably linked: the microplastic particles themselves and the chemicals in the plastic.
The plastics industry largely ignores or downplays the risks and harms of the products they produce. But a flurry of recent peer-reviewed studies is telling us that plastic pollution, as it relates to human health, is a five-alarm fire in need of urgent attention and action.
Health Effects on Women
A June 2022 study found microplastics in human breast milk.
A July 2023 study found that exposure to phthalates, in plastics, is associated with the occurrence of endometriosis and affects women’s reproductive prognosis and ovarian function.
A September 2023 study found pregnant women may experience a greater risk of postpartum depression when exposed to phthalates — toxic chemicals used in plastics.
A February 2024 study found microplastics in all the placenta samples tested. Prof. Matthew Campen at the University of New Mexico who led the research, said: “If we are seeing effects on placentas, then all mammalian life on this planet could be impacted. That’s not good.”
A January 2025 study on microplastics in placentas links microplastics to premature births, which is the leading cause of infant death worldwide.
An August 2024 study revealed that microplastics can pass from mothers to their unborn offspring.
Health Effects on Men
A May 2024 study detected microplastics in all semen samples tested.
A June 2024 study discovered microplastics in human penises for the first time, suggesting the pollutants may play a role in erectile dysfunction.
An August 2024 study found microplastics in the testes of humans and dogs. Along with other toxic chemical exposures from plastics, the finding suggests a connection to the rising rate of male infertility.
Health Effects on all of us
An April 2021 study found microplastics cause damage to human cells at the levels known to be consumed by people via contaminated food.
A May 2022 study found microplastics in human blood. As microplastics flow through the blood, they can travel to any organ in the body.
A July 2022 study found microplastics in human lungs. A January 2024 study concludes that microparticles in the lungs may trigger an inflammatory response and suggests extended exposure to microplastics can result in respiratory illnesses such as asthma, COPD, and pneumoconiosis. Additionally, the chemicals that leach out of microplastics could lead to additional toxicological effects.
A March 2023 study found microplastics can breach the blood-brain barrier, something the plastic industry has previously claimed could not happen.
A July 2023 study found that microplastics infiltrated all systems of the body. The researchers found that plastic particles bioaccumulate in every organ. “The brain blood barrier is supposed to be very difficult to permeate. It is a protective mechanism against viruses and bacteria, yet these particles were able to get in there. It was actually deep in the brain tissue,” said Professor Jaime Ross, one of the study’s authors. The researchers found that the infiltration of microplastics was as widespread in the body as it is in the environment. They found that microplastic exposure induces both behavioral changes and alterations in immune markers in liver and brain tissues. Mice used in the study began to move and behave peculiarly, exhibiting behaviors akin to dementia in humans. The results were even more profound in older animals. “To us, this was striking. These were not high doses of microplastics, but in only a short period of time, we saw these changes,” Ross said.
And a May 2024 preprint study confirmed that microplastics bioaccumulated in human livers, kidneys and brains. Shockingly, the brain samples contained on average about 10 to 20 times more than the other organs. The researchers looked at 12 brain samples from people who had died with dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease. These brains contained up to 10 times more plastic by weight than healthy samples. The study also found the quantity of microplastics in brain samples from 2024 was about 50% higher than the total in samples that date to 2016, suggesting the concentration of microplastics found in human brains is rising at a similar rate to that found in the environment.
A December 2024 study connected microplastics with the sharply rising rates of colon cancer in the U.S. The researchers stated, “We concluded that exposure to microplastics is ‘suspected’ to adversely impact the colon and small intestine in humans… Across the outcomes, we identified that exposure to microplastics is ‘suspected’ to be a digestive hazard to humans, including a suspected link to colon cancer, using the key characteristics of carcinogens approach.”
A February 2025 study confirmed that microplastics in human brain tissues to be at much higher concentrations than other organs and microplastics accumulation increased by 50% over the last 8 years. “I never would have imagined it was this high. I certainly don’t feel comfortable with this much plastic in my brain, and I don’t need to wait around 30 more years to find out what happens if the concentrations quadruple,” said Dr. Matthew Campen, toxicologist who led the research team.
Again, these are just a small sampling of the peer-reviewed studies that have been published. Though we welcome more research, there is ample evidence to show that we need to take serious action on the issue of plastics.
One thing is now certain: there is no such thing as “food grade” or “safe” plastic.
Environmental Concerns
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) states:
The world is drowning under the weight of plastic pollution, with more than 430 million tonnes of plastic produced annually. Two-thirds are short-lived products that soon become waste, filling the ocean and, often, working their way into the human food chain.
One of the most damaging and long-lived legacies of the plastic pollution crisis is microplastics, a growing threat to human and planetary health.
When ingested by marine life such as birds, fish, mammals and plants, microplastics have both toxic and mechanical effects, leading to issues including reduced food intake, suffocation, behavioral changes and genetic alteration.
In addition to entering the food chain through seafood, people can inhale microplastics from the air, ingest them from water and absorb them through the skin. Microplastics have been found in various human organs, and even in the placenta of newborn babies.
UNEP’s 2021 report From Pollution to Solution warned that chemicals in microplastics “are associated with serious health impacts, especially in women”. These can include changes to human genetics, brain development and respiration rates, among other health issues.
“The impacts of hazardous chemicals and microplastics on the physiology of both humans and marine organisms is still nascent and must be prioritized and accelerated in this Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development,” said Leticia Carvalho, Head of the Marine and Freshwater Branch at UNEP.
“However, action limiting their spread and prevalence will undoubtedly be beneficial to our long-term health and the well-being of marine ecosystems and beyond,” she added.
WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE ABOUT THE PLASTIC PROBLEM?
About recycling
Though we absolutely participate in recycling programs, we also know that recycling is largely ineffective and will never be an effective solution to the plastics problem.
We’re all aware of the chasing arrows symbol with the number in it. Many of us assume the symbol means that the plastic can be recycled. It absolutely doesn’t. It only identifies the material type or plastic resin code, not whether your local facility can process it. While plastics #1 (PET bottles) and #2 (HDPE containers) are widely recyclable, items like #6 polystyrene or #7 mixed plastics often end up in landfills. Many single-use items like straws and eating utensils are technically recyclable, but actually go to landfill.
The EPA estimated that about 9% of all plastic waste was successfully recycled in 2018. Researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) estimated that approximately 5% of all plastic waste was recycled in 2019.
A 2024 report, The Fraud of Plastic Recycling, goes into detail on how the oil industry, and by extension the plastic industry, has been deceiving the public for decades and perpetuating the false solution of recycling. You may have recently seen or heard the new marketing around “advanced recycling” or “chemical recycling” facilities that will fix the plastic pollution problem. Long story short, they don’t exist and never will to scale. It’s just another greenwashing exercise for the plastic industry to avoid new regulations and encourage people to use more plastic. As demand for oil will decrease in the coming decades, the oil industry sees plastics manufacture as its salvation. We encourage you to read the report.
What we need to do as a society
Plastic pollution and the chemicals used in plastics are mostly unregulated. As of right now, the manufacturers and polluters do not pay for the environmental or human health harms they cause, externalizing their costs.
You might be infuriated to find that we, as taxpayers, actually subsidize the industries producing plastics. These subsidies to the interconnected fossil fuel, petrochemical, and plastic industries take the form of tax breaks, grants for capital investments, and concessional loans. Globally, subsidies to the plastic polymer industry in the top 15 plastic-producing countries total an estimated $30 billion annually.
The groundbreaking 2023 report, Minderoo-Monaco Commission on Plastics and Human Health, makes it clear that a worldwide moratorium on single-use, fossil fuel-based plastics (produced from coal, oil and fracked gas) is necessary. The report concludes that plastic causes environmental damage and premature death at every stage of its life cycle, from production to use and disposal.
“These findings put us on an unequivocal path to demand the banning or severely restricting of unnecessary, avoidable, and problematic plastic items, many of which contain hazardous chemicals with links to horrific harm to people and the planet,” says report co-author, Dr. Sarah Dunlop.
Dr. Phillip Landrigan, epidemiologist and pediatrician, also a co-author, says: “Plastics are full of thousands upon thousands of really toxic chemicals. Some of them can cause cancer. Some of them can cause birth defects in babies. Some of them can cause brain damage. Some can disrupt the functioning of the endocrine system of the human body. And because plastic waste can contain all of these nasty materials, you can’t just recycle it and put it into food packaging.”
We agree with the Minderoo-Monaco Commission on Plastics and Human Health report. A moratorium on the production of nonessential plastic products is necessary. We must also advocate for a Producers & Polluters Must Pay policy. The industries that have caused and are causing the problems should shoulder the eventual costs of remediation and cleanup.
What we can do as individuals
As long as there are unnecessary plastics being manufactured and used, plastic and microplastics pollution will continue. It is impossible to be microplastics-free.
But we can and should reduce our exposure to toxic microplastics and chemicals. We can do this by not buying and using plastic products and swapping out everything in our households that contribute to our exposures.
It can feel overwhelming if you’re just learning about the issue and want to take action. So GMO/Toxin Free USA has created resources that can help guide you on a journey to Better Health.
You can sign up for our free Quick Start Guide to Better Health and 9 Weeks to Better Health program. This comprehensive walkthrough, covering plastics, microplastics and more, can be accomplished at your own pace. SIGN UP HERE.
