Microplastics are everywhere: 6 ways to help protect your health — and the planet

Purging our world of microplastics requires change at the government level. But until that happens, here are some things individuals can do to make a difference.

Plastic pollution has reached every corner of our planet, from the highest mountaintops to deep ocean trenches. It also contaminates the air we breathe and water we drink.

According to a 2023 report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the world produces around 400 million tonnes of plastic waste annually. And around 85 per cent of it ends up in landfills, incinerators or the environment, where it breaks down into hazardous microplastics. 

In Plastic People, a documentary from The Nature of Things, Sarika Cullis-Suzuki connects with science journalist Ziya Tong to explore our plastic-filled world and its potential impacts on human health.

Microplastics — particles under five millimetres in length — can be deliberately manufactured for inclusion in products like cosmetics. But much of them come from the degradation of packaging, synthetic fabrics, paint, personal care products and other plastic items.

"Some of it, as it breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces, can go up into the atmosphere and travel globally that way," says ecologist Chelsea Rochman in the film. 

"It is eaten by almost every level of the food chain … so it's [in] atmospheric currents, global dust cycles, the water cycle, the carbon cycle."

In the documentary, with the help of microplastics researcher Mary Kosuth, Tong uncovers the alarming extent of microplastic contamination, finding it almost everywhere — from household dust to backyard snow to her own body.

"We found it in my blood, we found it in my feces," Tong says. Microplastics have also been found in human lungs, placentas and even our brains.

A study commissioned by the World Wide Fund for Nature found that people could be ingesting five grams or a credit card's worth of plastic every week.

"The study of toxicity of microplastics is in its infancy, but we're beginning to learn that they are a transport mechanism for getting bad chemicals into people," says Pete Myers, chief scientist at the not-for-profit Environmental Health Sciences. 

Phthalates and bisphenol A (BPA) are two compounds commonly found in plastic that can make their way into the body. In Plastic People, experts discuss how they impact the endocrine system and have been linked to various health problems, including obesity, fertility issues and cancer.

Purging our world of microplastics seems like a daunting challenge. 

As a longtime activist against plastic pollution, Tong believes that change needs to happen at the government level. "Ultimately, this is about policy," she says in the documentary. "As individuals, we're in a trap. There's only so much we can do."