Microplastics Contamination.

Did you know these every day products contain plastics? Most people don't.

1.City & Home dust - City dust includes losses from the abrasion of objects like synthetic soles of footwear and synthetic cooking utensils.

2. Synthetic clothes - microplastics in this case come in the shape of microfibres. Microfibres are essentially microscopic strands of plastics that unlike beads, are longer. 

3. Tap water - A study by Orb Media, found that 94% of tap water in the USA and 72% in Europe contained microplastics

4. Tea bags - Companies use plastic in tea bags to seal them so they don’t break open in the box or cup.

5. Cosmetics - Many personal care and cosmetic products contain a type of engineered microplastic known as microbeads.

6.Fish & Sea food - Microplastics come from plastic pollution that gets broken down in the ocean and is then ingested by marine animals.

7.Chewing gum - People used to chew on chicle – a gum made from tree sap. These days, we're more likely to be chewing on a polymer. That's a plastic made from oil that's similar to the stuff used in car tyres.

 8. Drink Cartons - Cartons of milk, juice and other liquids are all hiding plastic. They're made from paperboard, aluminium and a type of plastic called polytethylene.

 9. Takeaway paper coffee cups - They are made out of paper, of course. But they’re also usually made with a thin coating of a plastic called polyethylene

 10.Wet wipes - Yet despite looking like paper, most wet wipes are actually a form of plastic. They're usually made from polyester fibres mixed with wood fibres – and aren't dissolvable like standard toilet paper

 11.Bottle caps - Bottle caps used to be made from aluminium and a cork liner. In the 1960s they swapped the cork liner for plastic. Today's standard metal bottle caps come lined with one of two types of plastic – foamed polyethylene or plastisol.

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References

https://www.europarl.europa.eu/

https://www.conserve-energy-

https://www.horiba.com

https://cen.acs.org/

https://friendsoftheearth.uk