Ask Lemmy

I bet the bigger impact/microplastic culprit is the clothes themselves.

Why worry about something I can't control. The sack of meat I call a body will only take so much abuse from the world's oligarchs before it gives up..their bodies too.

I can rearrange me life to the most extremes, but my neighbour will still burn garbage and consume twice as much as I ever will within a week. There's no stopping this until companies are held accountable and the rich are jailed, which we all know will never happen.

I assume you mean the clear plastic around the pods that gets sticky when you touch it with wet hands. Relevant YouTube short with Hank Green https://youtube.com/shorts/mm997MpLNeA?si=ZdBiX7ZTjbpLQMLS TLDW: you don't have to worry about this kind of plastic it is water soluble and turns into water and carbon dioxide when burned I believe.

Yes I am worried about microplastics in everyday things, for example drinking water from my tap. I am also worried about using plastics for anything food related that is heated up. As such i have removed all plastic containers in our kitchen that would be used near or with heat. Any containers remaining is only for cold foods and dry storage.

Aren't laundry and dishwasher pods basically gelatin? Which isn't plastic, it's made from animal collagen.

Edit: I have educated myself, and it's PVA; which is essentially wood-glue. PVA is a biodegradable acetate which dissolves completely in water.

Not much I can realistically do about them. Consumption on my level has no measurable effect. So, no. I'm going to die of a bowel explosion in a couple decades anyways, according to the cards. If there's plastic, so be it.

Considering the overwhelming majority of microplastic in water comes from car tire dust probably nothing until transportation changes worldwide.

I think that being informed can help dilute the worry. Here’s what I’ve learned:

Most microplastics found inside humans come from synthetic clothing followed by car tires. Theres a great Veritasium video on this. Plastic cookware is also a consideration.

Food & Cookware

Don’t buy dishwasher pods, they're worse for the environment (plastic waste) and worse for your wallet than just a regular fluid container. Both fluid container and pod container are plastic so theres not much improvement to be had there.

My friend with a Chemical Engineering degree tells me that the plastics are stable chemically, and insufficient evidence exists to deem them harmful when left alone in cool temperatures. HOWEVER, unreacted precursor chemicals and thermosets are highly reactive, and new plastics come still coated with this. New car smell? Thats unreacted precursor, and it’s very harmful. Additionally, plastic cookware also gets hot, breaking it down slowly, and potentially making it harmful.

Avoid plastics and “non-stick” coatings in cookware.

Clothing

First thought is to avoid synthetic clothing, but theres a catch… Synthetic clothing is significantly better at blocking harmful UV light from the sun. For example, polyester & Nylon UPF is about 30-50+, whereas cotton is around 5. UPF = SPF generally. For this, I prefer wool (UPF ~40) or denim (UPF 1000+ off the chart). However, thats hot, so using some tight knit polyester shirts is a must in warm climates. Many shirts from retailers like REI have this stuff. So far, the ones I own have never shed noticeably, though that may change.

Why am I talking about sun protection? Remember, the goal is your health, not fearful avoidance of one harm that subjects you to another.

For all fabrics that aren't expected to protect from the sun, natural fibers are preferred. Included is bedding, towels, bathrobe, pajamas, casual clothing, socks, etc.

Other thoughts

For all of this, my friend says that I probably don't need to worry, and I have never seen convincing evidence that microplastics are harmful inside the body. Yet, I operate as if it were proven, because I don't want to risk reading that I’ve been poisoning myself ten years from now.

Detergent pods?

Boy are you about to lose 81 minutes of your life that you'll be happy to waste: https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFOQW4J4mT3E4f_Y6O7H4OFq2SXKpWLF2

Yes. Almost half of all microplastic particles are fibers from synthetic clothing. So I avoid buying clothes that are not made with natural materials. I also avoid single use plaatics as much as I can and recycle as much as I can.

I do my best to minimize micro plastics but also try not to worry about things I can't control. That cat is already out of the bag, micro plastics are inescapable. The silver lining this study show that they aren't that dangerous and its relatively easy for the body to get rid of them over the course of a month. While obviously its hard to say about long term toxicity it seems that life is at least generally resilient to it.

If I may add one personal anecdote. My parents were born in the 60s and 70s. They chain smoked cigarettes for many decades before their health finally caught up with them. Yet somehow they resisted the numerous toxins and carcinogens and tar they exposed themselves too every moment of the day. Maybe they are just really lucky but also maybe living things that got this far in the evolutionary tree already have expetience in biologically adapting to survive. Our cells aren't such easy pushovers to die over any and every little changes in the environment or new chemical players introducing themselves in the game of life.

I'm happier to live in an age of micro plastics than lead and asbestos and extreme smog.

Yes. I usually join several cleaning groups per year, cleaning thrash from nature. I also don't buy cheap plastic clothing (basically stop caring about fashionable trends) and repair as much as possible. I think about packaging when buying stuff, which I btw also limit as much as possible. Our waste stream is extremely low, with 95% going into recycling and upcycling.

I live a comfortable modern life, these are minor adjustments everybody can and should be able to make.

Always keep in mind that apathy and fomo are part of capitalist consumer ideology.

Just use dishwashing powder and laundry powder/liquid.

Dishwasher pods kinda suck anyway. And most dishwashers have a spot for powder during the prewash, which it's highly recommended to use. (Look up technology connections videos on the topic)

Nothing can be done to prevent microplastics. They’re already out there.

The problem will solve itself via microbiology. Organisms will evolve that eat plastic and then it’ll be “over” (by which I mean there will be a constant, but not increasing, amount of microplastics in the environment).

In the meantime, our health will suffer and hopefully our medical technology will expand to handle the negative outcomes.

Our civilization relies too heavily on plastic. And that’s not a bad thing. It has its drawbacks, but plastic is also super useful as a material and it’s part of what we are.

We aren’t just Homo sapiens any more. We’re Homo sapiens cybogified. Giving up plastic means giving up what we are. Going back is an illusion that we create for children so they can have an environment that mimics our environment of evolutionary adaptedness. In the real world, the world that an adult by definition engages with, change is a constant.

We have filled the world with plastic and there’s no way in our power to get rid of it. But nature has a way. Life has a way to handle it, and it will.

All I've ever heard about microplastics is that everyone is filled with them and that they are everywhere.

What I haven't heard is why that is a concern. Is it going to affect my health in the long run? When? How much do I have to have consumed for it be an issue?

Even if we identify those issues, can it be removed? Will it make a difference?

For such a 'everyone is now worried about this' type problem, I never once heard why they're concerned. I suppose I could look it up, but I'm surprised that all of the discussion is about the issue existing, but not why it's an issue to begin with.

At some point in your life you realize that you can't worry about things you don't have control about

Between climate change, civil unrest, and the possibility of WW3, I'm not sure if I or anyone else is going to live long enough for it to be an issue. When all the immediate civilization-collapsing problems are solved, I'll worry about microplastics in earnest.

What can be done to prevent microplastics?

You mean, apart from dismantling capitalism?

Nothing? Stop using so many plastic things.

Unless everyone changes, there's microplastic in your drinking water. The problem is so far along that even if we stopped all plastic products sale and manufacturing today, and actively worked to clean out all of the microplastic from the globe on an unprecedented level, we would still have microplastic issues by the time you die, even if you live longer than any human has ever lived before.

This isn't "it's hopeless and we shouldn't bother", it's more "there's more to do than can be done in anyone's lifetime, so try not to make it any worse".

It's good that you're aware and trying, you should keep doing that. Worrying about it all the time isn't really helpful. Just try not to unnecessarily contribute to the problem.

Are you worried about consumption of micro plastics, or contributing to the micro plastic problem?

I've been avoiding plasticware for food for about a decade, I drink from glasses or glass bottles, never use disposable utensils etc, but I wasn't paying that much attention to fabric content until I had a baby. I was more concerned with the chemical leeching directly, but then I read more about how microplastics effect the endocrine system and how infants are especially vulnerable due to their size and how they chew on everything. That spurred me to only get plant based fabrics for the kiddo, mostly from 2nd hand shops. I think the only plastic stuff he wears is his snow gear and shoes. I know I can't protect him forever, but I'll do what I can where I can.

this is a case where I basically decide not to worry about something so staggeringly out of my control

Do pods not just dissolve?