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TIL that by opening plastic items, between 14,000 and 75,000 microplastic particles are released
(www.newscientist.com)
this post was submitted on 01 Nov 2024
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Damn, how have I not heard of this before? I always thought it got dumped into landfills and eventually degraded to tiny particles. If it's released so directly, it feels a lot more viable to reduce exposure by avoiding plastics...
That's the thing, when people hear the term micro they still (for some reason) assume its something they can see with their naked eyes. Kind of like those plastic pellets put into handsoaps a while back that are now band.
In reality microplastics are everywhere there is plastic, and they are released all the time at a microscopic level. Meaning you actually need a microscope to see them. Its like a fine dust.
Now think of all the plastic items you use and come in contact with.
Toothbrushes for example, each time you brush your teeth the brisels break down at a microscopic level and are released. The plastic utensils you use either in the kitchen on your pans, or the single use ones for food, they all slowly release plastics. That plastic cutting board, or boiling water in a plastic kettle, yup they all also release plastic.
Pretty much everything breaks down at a microscopic level, that is how knives become dull, or how items show wear and tear over time.
it's probably because the limit for the category of microplastics is "now widely defined as pieces ≤5 mm in size".