A study finds on average people could be ingesting approximately 5 grams of plastic every week, which is the equivalent weight of a credit card. Based on a study carried out by the University of Newcastle, the analysis suggests that people are consuming about 100,000 tiny pieces of plastic – or 250 grams – every year.
These findings are an important step towards understanding the impact of plastic pollution on humans. The University of Newcastle is the first to combine insights from over 50 studies globally on the ingestion of plastic by people.
Findings reveal that microplastics are contaminating the air, food, and water consumed by humans. The single largest source of plastic ingestion globally is through water, both bottled and tap.
Image- WWF
Reuters did a retake on this recently to demonstrate the cumulative effects of this study.
Image: graphics.reuters.com
It is a sobering thought and a reminder that as the food industry we need to be doing as much as possible to find more suitable alternatives.
