Life Hack: What are microplastics and should I swap my plastic chopping board for wood?

Plus, tips on how to clean a wooden chopping board

Despite being easier to sanitise, over time plastic chopping boards develop deep groves from knife use, much like their wooden counterparts. However, unlike wood, these cannot be planed away so the next step is to replace the board.

How concerned are you about microplastics? If you’re not familiar with them, as the name suggests, microplastics are tiny pieces of plastic — ranging from one nanometer to 5mm in size — that are turning up everywhere. Microplastics are contributing to plastic pollution worldwide, and as a result, they are creeping into our food supply.

Recent studies suggest more and more microplastics are being found the human body after being ingested, and the long-term health implications of this are as yet unclear — but consuming plastic chemicals is unlikely to have a positive impact on us.