It’s no news that we’re on the brink of a water crisis on planet earth. We’ve hurt our home so much that there are so many different elements to our environmental issues that we can’t even keep up. It’s become especially complicated because it’s impossible to prioritise one and only one and put the rest on the back burner, but at the same time, it’s really hard to put so much energy and resources and effort into all of them at once. But try we shall! So I’m here to introduce you to one of the most “recent” and definitely very pressing, because if there’s one way to make humans care about environmental issues it’s to turn it into a literal personal hazard for us. 

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Perfect segue into today’s topic: micro plastics in potable water, in other words: (almost) every sip of water that you take contains teeny tiny particles of plastic. And no, I’m not exaggerating this! The World Health Organisation has a complete report on the subject if you want a more official (but definitely more boring) source. To all who stuck around, good call, it’ll be worth it! I imagine you must have tons of questions after that sad little intro, so I’m here to answer them all and restore a bit of hope in all of us and give you some little tips to keep your life less micro-plastic-filled. 

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So what the f**k are micro plastics anyway? 

Micro plastics are tiny pieces of plastic smaller than five millimetres, some of them even much smaller than that and can only be seen under a microscope. They can be split into two categories: primary and secondary. Primary micro-plastics are particles and micro-fibres that are shed from commercial products such as cosmetics, clothing and other textiles. Secondary micro-plastics are particles that result from the breakdown of larger plastic items, such as water bottles and plastic bags. Obviously you can’t really see any of these plastic particles floating around your water bottle as they’re really, really small so don’t go looking for them. 

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And how the f**k do they get into drinking water?

Well, there are multiple ways of this happening: surface run-off from road-marking paints and scrap from tire wear, degraded plastic waste from products flushed down toilets and sinks, wastewater and sewage overflows, fibres from clothing and other textiles that get released into drains and sewage from simple wear-and-tear and washing, single-use plastic items (i.e. plastic bottles and caps, straws, bags, cups, bin bags). Honestly the list could go on and on, but you get the point. 

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Okay, but should I care? 

We strongly believe that “Honesty is the best policy”, hence: no one is truly sure yet. According to the World Health Organisation, “no reliable information suggests it is a concern” regarding the physical hazard of plastic particles. Nevertheless, it is proven that micro plastics can carry chemicals and microbial pathogens, which might be the area of biggest concern, but again, still based on limited evidence. So, long story short, studies haven’t shown how bad this is for our health, but they’re definitely suggesting that we’re more careful around it and that we try to reduce our intake of micro plastic as much as we can. 

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And what about water bottles? 

Glad you asked! Turns out that the highest detected plastics polymer is polyethylene terephthalate, or for us mortals: PET, which is used to produce both the bottle material and the cap of single use plastic bottles. And here’s where it gets interesting because if you drink water from a PET plastic bottle (a non-reusable one) chances are you’re ingesting more micro plastics than in any other situation for many reasons. On the one side, there’s the physical stress element that happens during production and transportation: high-pressure water injection into the bottles, bottles shaking during shipping and thermal impact during storage. All of these stressors worsen the fragmentation of the plastics into the water. As if this wasn’t enough, the constant and current opening and closing of the bottle can also cause even more particles to be formed… Okay, okay, enough now. I think you get it: STOP DRINKING WATER FROM PLASTIC BOTTLES! 

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I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scream at you, but it’s because I care about you! 

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Okay, so what can I do about it?

After telling you all these bad news and bringing bad vibes to your life, I will make it up to you by giving you multiple options to start reducing your micro plastic intake from water. If you’re drinking water from the tap, I would recommend you to buy a filter. Honestly there are SO many options that range from very basic but useful ones on Amazon, to very lux and over the top. Another big one is to stop buying one-use-plastic bottles and get yourself a sturdy, gorgeous reusable (and sustainable) water bottle, the options are literally endless.

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Are there any options?

If you know yourself too well and are confident that a reusable water bottle is not for you and you know to immediately lose every single one you buy, there are some brands that are more conscious and committed to not only our health, but also the environment and try to do as much as they can to minimise the amount of micro plastics in their bottled water. Not to say that many of these brands’ water bottles are actually made of other materials that aren’t plastic, like glass or aluminium, so they’re not only looking out for us and our health, but they’re also looking out for the planet and its health! 

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The thing is: we have to drink water to stay alive, right? So we might as well keep it as clean and micro plastic free as possible! And in the process of keeping our bodies free of micro plastics we should take into consideration the bigger picture and also try to minimise our plastic waste that could be turned into these tiny plastic particles and aggravate the never ending circle of plastic.

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