How to reduce our exposure to microplastics in the home

Kya deLongchamps shares advice on how to minimise the presence of minuscule fragments of plastic in our living spaces

To reduce the chance of microplastics entering your food, don’t heat or reheat foods or ingredients in plastic containers. Decant them to a microwave-safe glass or ceramic dish. File picture

We've all noticed a spike in the number of news features regarding particle exposure, and the troubling reports on the ingress of microplastics in every part of the human body. With particles of plastic less than 5mm, our milk and food cartons, our drinking water, fruit, sea salt, vegetables, our cooking utensils and many of the everyday products deployed for washing, toileting, grooming, dressing and making-up — contain and release microplastics during use. The culprits are the smallest traces of plastic under 5mm (fine as a tiny grain of sand) that can be ingested or breathed in, getting into our bloodstream and lodging in various areas of our bodies.

Research on the impact of micro and nano-plastics on the human body is producing new findings every day, and with a history reaching back well over a century, plastics and their impact have long been part of the fabric of our lives.