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But, if you are wanting to reduce your exposure as a precautionary measure, researchers say there are simple ways to do this at home.
Chopping boards, cooking utensils and water bottles
Environmental chemist and Macquarie University Research fellow Yunlong Luo says if you’re applying heat, heavy friction or strong chemicals to plastic, “there’s a good chance it’s breaking down and releasing particles”.
With this in mind, Luo says it might make sense to swap items that get this kind of use for alternative materials, for example plastic cutting boards for wooden ones.
Rauert says she uses wooden chopping boards and cooking utensils instead of plastic as it’s an “easy swap” to make.
Okoffo also suggests trading plastic chopping boards for alternatives, such as silicone or wood.
Where possible, he recommends choosing different materials such as metal water bottles, wooden utensils and glass containers.
If you do have plastic water bottles, avoid leaving them in a hot car or direct sunlight, Okoffo says.
Plastic containers
Okoffo avoids microwaving plastics whenever possible, “especially if they’re reused, old, or scratched”.
This is because “temperature actually plays a major role” in the release of microplastics and chemicals.
Instead, he says to move leftovers into ceramic or glass before microwaving or consider trading your plastic containers for glass or ceramic options.
Rauert says she minimises the amount of plastic food containers she uses, and doesn’t put plastic in the microwave.
“Cheaper plastic containers do shed a lot of plastics and it’s worse when you put hot food in them”.
Because of this, Okoffo recommends waiting for food to cool down before putting it in a plastic container.
He also suggests handwashing plastics, because conditions in the dishwasher (the high temperature and detergent) aid the release of plastic particles from containers.
Handwashing plastic containers still releases particles, he notes, so it’s a case of reduction rather than removal.
Chemicals in plastic containers can also potentially leak or migrate into food, “especially when containers are used in ways they’re not supposed to be”, Okoffo says.
The kettle
One of the authors of a recent study into the release of microplastics and nanoplastics from plastic kettles, Okoffo says these appliances are another source of exposure for many of us.
The highest levels of plastics were detected in water after the first few boils of a new plastic kettle, but research found that “the plastic concentration reduced drastically” from 50 to 150 boils, he says.
One of the study’s recommendations is for manufacturers to let consumers know to boil the kettle and discard the contents before using it, rather than simply rinsing it.
Okoffo says cost is undeniably a factor and “people will still definitely go for the plastic kettle”, but the research did lead him to upgrade from a plastic kettle to a more expensive stainless steel option at home.
One of the major sources of plastics into the environment is from synthetic clothing.
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The clothes dryer
“One of the major sources of plastics into the environment is from synthetic clothing,” Okoffo says.
Luo says clothes dryers can be a “significant source” of microfibres at home and “air drying clothes is a great way to cut down on this”.
Rauert agrees and says there are also vented clothes dryers (that expel humid air outside the house using a vent), which will mean more particles will go outside.
She also looks for natural fibres over synthetics, where possible, when shopping for new clothes.
Dusting and mopping
Cleaning can also help reduce microplastics, according to Rauert and Luo, as well as some of the chemicals used to make plastics, which can also “settle into the dust”.
Luo says using a damp cloth to wipe surfaces and vacuuming and mopping floors is likely to help minimise the tiny particles in the dust at home.
