Babies vs. Plastic: A Year On, What’s Changed

Plastics are all around - our clothes and carpets are made of plastic textiles like nylon and polyester, our technology is stuffed with plastics, our food is wrapped in it and our toiletries are made of the same chemicals used in plastic bottles.

Of the more than 400 million tons of plastic that are produced each year, the vast majority is tossed away after just one use. This is why 20 million tons of plastics end up in the environment every single year, causing severe ecosystem degradation and killing wildlife.

But last year, EARTHDAY.ORG helped to elevate another serious issue with plastics that had long been hiding behind plastic pollution headlines: their impact on human health. It turns out that plastic is NOT inert as plastic manufacturers had once assured us, but in fact degrades slowly over thousands of years, shedding microplastic particles and leaching toxic chemicals in the process. The plastics you can see are actually just the tip of the plastic crisis iceberg.

All around us there is plastic that is invisible to the naked eye. It is in the air, in our water, in our soil, our food, house-dust and now it is inside all of us too. This is why the EARTHDAY.ORG theme for 2024 is Planet vs. Plastics - to drive awareness about the human health issues of our involuntary plastic consumption and hopefully enact change.

On November 23, 2023, EARTHDAY.ORG published a meta-analysis report titled Babies ss. Plastics that outlines the history of plastic and how it became so prevalent in our society so quickly. The focus of the report is how plastic exposure impacts human health, with particular regard to babies.

Why babies? As it turns out, young children have a much higher risk of ingesting and inhaling microplastics due to their tendency to crawl on the ground, coming into contact with household dust laden with plastic particulates. Their development phase of putting everything into their mouths, including many products designed for babies that are specifically made of plastics - like bottles and teethers - also increases their chance of plastic exposure. In fact, the rate of ingestion and inhalation of microplastics of babies is ten times more than that of adults.

The Babies vs. Plastics report highlighted how researchers have found microplastics in many different human organs, including the heart, lungs, urinary and gastrointestinal systems, as well as in human breast milk, placentas, and meconium, an infant's first stool.

Studies have found these plastics in the human heart, the great blood vessels, the lungs, the liver, the testes, the gastrointestinal tract and the placenta.

Professor Dr. Philip Landrigan, director of the Program for Global Public Health and the Common Good and the Global Observatory on Planetary Health at Boston College

There is evidence that early exposure to elevated concentrations of microplastics may be linked to conditions such as ADHD, autism, early onset puberty, and some cancers. And, just a year after the publication of EARTHDAY.ORG's first plastic report, we have more evidence and an even clearer image of how plastics affect our bodies.

A 2020 study in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, cited in the Babies report, asserted that humans could be ingesting up to 52,000 microplastic particles per year. A more recent study, published in January 2024 - a few months after Babies Vs. Plastics was released, found between 10 and 100 times more plastic particles in bottled water than previous studies measured. In fact, they determined that a one liter of bottled water included, on average, about 240,000 microscopic pieces of plastic.

Studies from 2023 on mice and fish, such as the one featured in the Babies report, found that microplastics that enter the bloodstream can also penetrate the "blood-brain barrier," entering the brain itself and leading to visible behavior changes and cognitive decline. The exact effects of microplastics on the human brain is an area of ongoing research.

If that was not alarming enough, in May 2024 - just 6 months after EARTHDAY.ORG's Babies report - human brain samples were found to contain more shards of plastic than samples collected eight years prior, according to an online preprint (a study not yet peer-reviewed and published in a journal).

The concentrations we saw in the brain tissue of normal individuals, who had an average age of around 45 or 50 years old, were 4,800 micrograms per gram, or 0.5% by weight. Compared to autopsy brain samples from 2016, that's about 50% higher. That would mean that our brains today are 99.5% brain and the rest is plastic.

Matthew Campen, University of New Mexico - Albuquerque

Another groundbreaking new study published in March 2024 made the discovery that patients with microplastic buildup in their carotid artery plaque were twice as likely to suffer from a heart attack or stroke than patients without. The researchers' results provided some of the first direct evidence of the link between plastic and human health.

In August 2024, the Minderoo Foundation released a pioneering study which provided a damning indictment of the impact of plastics on human health. Titled, an Umbrella Review: Impact of Plastic-Associated Chemical Exposure on Human Health, the report collated the best evidence to date of peer reviewed plastic research as it relates to human health, as well as outlined recommendations for policymakers and regulators.

This research categorically proves that none of the examined chemicals - which are found in plastic items people use every single day and are known to infiltrate our bodies - can be considered safe.

Professor Sarah Dunlop, Minderoo Foundation's Head of Plastics & Human HealtH

It is clear that the evidence is mounting regarding the devastating impact of plastics on human health - at all stages of the human life cycle - and the Babies report is already in need of updating.

So How Can You Cut Your Plastic Intake?

On an individual level, there are several ways to protect yourself and your loved ones from exposure to microplastics and toxic chemicals. One of the more obvious steps you can take is simply to limit access to plastic objects - children's toys in particular. Not only is it safer for children to be surrounded by less plastic, it has been shown that kids who have fewer toys are better able to focus and play creatively anyway!

You can also reduce your exposure to plastic particles by sweeping or vacuuming your home as much as possible, as dust is full of plastic fibers. In addition, choose your cosmetics carefully and limit your use, as many contain plastic chemicals like phthalates. Finally, when purchasing clothing, try to avoid polyester, a textile used widely in fast fashion. Polyester is made of plastic and sheds microplastic fibers that you could end up inhaling or, if you use a washing machine, will rinse into the water supply and potentially be ingested by marine life.

The contamination of our water supply is an important issue, as it is believed that diet is the main source of exposure to micro- and nanoplastics. Microplastics can build up in the bodies of many different organisms, a process known as "bioaccumulation," through ingestion, inhalation, and even skin absorption. Microplastics in the air, soil and water are ingested by plants, fish, shellfish and other small animals, and are even sometimes inadvertently fed to livestock through polyethylene roughage. All of this plastic eventually works its way up the food chain and into our own bodies.

A human in 2024 has plastic in almost all the organs of their body. And it will probably be even worse for the children born in 2040.

Fabienne Lagarde, Researcher

So, being cognitive of what you eat is critical. Avoid eating too much red meat, as there is growing evidence that it contains plastic particles, or shellfish, which consume microplastics which then remain in their digestive tracts. Fish too can carry high levels of microplastics, in addition to other toxic substances like mercury. It is important, therefore, to buy responsibly, opting for sustainably and ethically sourced products. The Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch has published a guide to sustainable seafood that is a great place for conscious consumers to start.

Some studies have found that leafy vegetables contain less microplastics than root vegetables, so opt to include them in your recipes. Also, avoid microwaving your food in plastic containers because the heat releases plastic chemicals, like BPA, directly into your food. Finally, if possible avoid drinking from plastic bottles!

The single most important thing that all of us can do to tackle the plastic health crisis is to call for our representatives and legislators to curb global plastic production. If you too believe in a safe, plastic-free future and want to get involved, join EARTHDAY.ORG's End Plastics campaign and consider donating so we can continue speaking out against plastics.

You can read the Babies Vs. Plastics here and our follow-up report, Pets Vs. Plastics. We will soon be releasing our third report, People Vs. Plastics on how the plastic industry uses PR and clever delay tactics to protect their profits and avoid accountability. But most easily of all, you can sign our Global Plastics Treaty Petition and make your voice heard before the final stages of the UN Global Plastic Treaty Negotiations, INC-5, that are taking place in Busan, South Korea, in early December. Please sign and demand meaningful action on plastic production. Let's end the plastic crisis.

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