Published this week: 100x more microplastics from water bottles as thought before source https://www.sciencealert.com/bottled-water-is-packed-full-of-up-to-100x-more-microplastic-than-expected
Hah I actually posted the same study in a reply. Though it was a CNN article about the study.
Don’t link big companies man, find an independent source especially for scientific stuff :) #cnnsucks
That is for bottled sold water, not from water bottles that you refill.
I’m sure using plastic anywhere in any form contributes to microplastics absorbed into ones body, but there is probably a difference? It’s just important to be specific what a study says and not accidentally make assumptions.
Also though, I’m gunna keep using my refillable plastic bottle. Trying to manage intake of microplastics based on how much plastic I interact with seems tedious to the point of being impossible. Plastics are the kind of thing that need regulated. And while I might spare myself some microplastics hypothetically, it’s not like the water bottle won’t break down into microplastics in the dump if I replaced it with a metal bottle.
Yes, the difference is it will take more time to check those so probably in ten years you’ll see the same news but about thick plastics…
This is a guess but I would assume the bottling process in water bottling plants, and the manufacture of the disposable water bottles, contributes to the amount of microplastics more than passive decay of plastic. Really my main points/beliefs are:
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We should be careful making claims based on scientific studies to make sure they are accurate to the study, especially when it comes to claims about how a solution for a problem may be reached. A slight misunderstandings can cause good motivations to make things worse (like people collectively throwing away all their reusable water bottles and buying NEW water bottles made with metal, effectively turning millions of usable waterbottles into trash and creating demand for more polluting industry).
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Plastic pollution, microplastics, and everything related, is an overproduction industry problem, not an individual responsibility problem. While a concern for ones own health is individual, it’s also almost impossible to meaningfully avoid microplastics with the current situation. The responsibility doesn’t rest on the shoulder of consumers to collectively make good choices, but on governments to regulate and for owners of industry to be held accountable for the damage they have caused.
