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How avoid microplasics?

I am busy and don't have time to research all of the ways corporations have poisoned us.

What are some good rules on how to avoid microplastics?

Eat local foods? Avoid processed foods? Walk/bike? Use dry soaps? Don't use any take away containers? Avoid walking near busy roads? Use cotton/wool for all clothing?

109 comments
  • https://www.aamc.org/news/microplastics-are-inside-us-all-what-does-mean-our-health

    My take-aways from this article:
    There's no good study on microplastics in humans.
    They've tested "pristine" plastic on mice and it's pretty bad.
    The plastics we're exposed to are loaded with chemicals and toxins.

    She carries a stainless-steel water bottle and avoids plastic water bottles. She doesn’t microwave food in plastic containers and only uses glass, wood, or metal kitchen items, including mixing bowls, spoons, cutting boards, and food storage containers.

    takes her shoes off to avoid tracking in dust from the outside and uses a HEPA filter to capture particles from the air.

    Great point. Tires are one of the leading products polluting our environment and lungs.

    This article also links to The Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment at UCSF which offers a guide for minimizing exposure to bad stuff. https://prhe.ucsf.edu/toxic-matters

    Here's a relevant NYT Article - How to Minimize Your Exposure to Microplastics

  • I read an article not that long ago that stated that they're in men's testicles and women's ovaries. In other words, they have become a part of your physical body and will become a part of the bodies of the next generation (likely several generations). They're unavoidable.

  • The main ways you're exposed to microplastics is through ingestion and breathing it in.

    To limit ingestion, yes the main thing to do is to avoid food and drink that comes in plastic containers. Reducing your consumption of processed foods will help with this. Eating mostly produce is a simpler way to approach this. Even though produce may often be transported in plastic, if you wash it before consumption you'll have done pretty well. Ideally you would also have a reverse osmosis filter at home, as your water probably has microplastics as well (but less than bottled water!).

    To limit breathing it in, yes avoid frequent exposure to busy roads. They are often full of tire dust that is getting kicked up. This is cumulative, though. Walking by a busy street once is no big deal. Walking along one twice a day may add up.

    Overall, however, to address microplastics we will have to control the production of plastics and the use of plastics in the first place. For example, there would be a lot less tire dust if we used more rail to get around. And there would be less need for bottled water if water fountains were ubiquitous and so were standardized stainless steel water bottles. In addition, we could use biodegradable plastics for more packaging so that they don't accumulate in bodies or the environment.

    But this last point, despite being the only real solution, will literally require the overthrow of capitalism. I'm for this and am happy to talk about it more, but it is a lot.

  • Some people here say space, but anything that takes you to space contains microplastics, in fact you yourself contain microplastic. The only way to avoid microplastics is simply to not exist at all. And I don't mean dying, when you die you still have microplastics in your body.

  • The two most common sources of microplastics that enter your body are from the vessels you eat/drink from, and from particles in the air from things like clothes, carpets, furniture, linens.

    How to avoid? Use stainless steel, aluminum, copper, (or other metals), ceramic, or glass storage vessels for things like water (including your Brita) for warming things in the microwave, or for storing food, and reduce buying things in plastic if you plan on keeping them there for awhile (eg glass ketchup bottle). Replace any plastic water pipes in your wall with good ol copper. My main water vessels are all stainless steel.

    For particulate, consider air filtration, buy clothes/furniture/carpets made from natural animal/ sources like cotton, wool, bamboo, avoiding plastics like polyester. That includes your scrubbing utensil for dishes. Your carpets are probably made with some sort of plastic, so if it's too much to do hardwood, or replace with a natural fibre, the Dyson vacuums are good at getting out loose microplastics.

    Be warned, one time I almost bought a stainless steel cup from a reputable retailer, and upon further investigation it was just plastic with a steel coating.. Yep, made in Communist China..

  • Don’t cook with Teflon or otherwise coated pans. Stainless steel, carbon steel or cast iron (can be enameled).

109 comments