"We're producing more and more plastic even though it's hard to remove from the environment"

Plastics are everywhere. In our soil, air, water and food. Plastic decomposes into small and even tinier particles – micro and nanoplastics – that aren't visible to the naked eye. These particles end up in our organs and blood. So just how harmful are they? A conversation with three experts.

“We want to determine the effects of micro- and nanoplastics on human health,” explains Emma Kasteel, researcher at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences) and at MOMENTUM, a consortium researching the effects of micro- and nanoplastics (see box). “We know that we’re being exposed to tiny plastic particles in every possible way, but we don’t know whether that’s harmful yet or – if so – just how bad it really is. That’s what we’re researching.”

Getting a grip on plastics

“It is important to understand the entire production chain: from the sources of plastic to their release into the environment and exposure to flora and fauna – as well as humans,” explains Susanne Waaijers, researcher at the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM). “Plastics are highly complex, they have physical, chemical and biological properties. We want to find out which of its effects are critical to our health. We can’t possibly test every type of plastic in the short term – there are more than six thousand varieties – but we are working to gather all that information.”

Pre-washing our clothes

Environmental organisation Plastic Soup Foundation advocates tackling plastic pollution at the source. The question is, how do we go about it? “That depends on the product,” replies Maria Westerbos, founder of the Plastic Soup Foundation. “When it comes to clothing, you could go about it in several ways. That could involve washing machine filters, but – most importantly – producing clothes that don’t wear out as quickly. We need to stop producing fast and ultrafast fashion anyway. You can also wash new clothes preventively, which involves washing them five times before they reach the retailer, but that still leaves you with plastic waste in the filters.”

Will five washes be enough to 'remove' individual plastic particles from the clothing?

“If the quality is reasonable, the weakest threads will have broken off after five washes and hopefully ended up in the filters,” Westerbos reckons. “Unfortunately, 69% of all clothing is synthetic. Ultra-fast fashion is particularly devastating to the environment. It’s also bad for our health, because we breathe in those fibres.”

There must be more sources besides clothing?

“Cosmetics are also a source of microplastics, but they’re a minor one,” the environmental organisation founder continues. “We believe their tiniest particles can penetrate the skin. Grindings from rubber car tyres are also an important source, as is paint. Basically all the synthetic stuff in your home: carpets, curtains, beds, pillows, a lot of it is made of plastic. That eventually ends up in the environment. Single-use plastics should be banned anyway.”
“Let’s not forget litter,” Waaijers adds. To which Westerbos responds: “That’s not a big problem here in the Netherlands, although there is a lot of invisible waste at the bottom of our rivers and sea. The use of mulch [shredded organic and inorganic waste, ed.] to cover young crops in the fields is also problematic. That can contain plastic, which isn’t biodegradable. The world is full of plastic; it’s in our soil, ground and drinking water, the air, our bodies.” “Land-borne plastics are a major problem,” Waaijers agrees. “The Netherlands does handle the litter problem more effectively than other countries, where plastics end up in landfills or sites where people burn plastic themselves. That can also release microplastics and other harmful substances.”
Still, the Netherlands is one of the biggest exporters of plastic waste, according to the Plastic Soup Foundation. “The Netherlands imports waste from Germany and England and ships eighty per cent of it to poor countries,” Westerbos explains. “They can’t process it, so they just burn it out in the open. Our own incinerators also generate a lot of pollution; if you opened their valves, you wouldn’t be able to eat any locally produced eggs.”

Don't buy any plastic toys that will fall apart quickly.

So the Netherlands isn't exactly top of the class?

"We're a bunch of scoundrels, we're now one of the worst behaved boys in the whole class," Westerbos sighs. "We're also diverting a lot of 'paper waste' through Rotterdam, but it actually contains a lot of plastic. That's illegal trade."
"I should qualify that a bit," Waaijers adds. "We don't know exactly how plastic is affecting our health yet, that's something we're currently researching. However, we do know that production volumes are still rising and we're aware how difficult it is to remove plastics from the environment. That's more than enough reason to crack down on the volume of production."

What's the main challenge when it comes to reducing plastic waste worldwide?

Waaijers: “The fact that manufacturers aren’t required to disclose the composition of their products, e.g. the polymers they contain and the relevant quantities,” she explains. We need that information. There is some European legislation on chemicals in the form of REACH, but that doesn’t cover polymers. They’re working to address that at the moment. That’s important because it will help us understand how plastics are made and what they are used for. Manufacturers currently aren’t required to provide any transparency about those things.”

If you opened the valves of an incinerator, you wouldn't be able to eat any locally produced eggs.

Are any plastic manufacturers willing to cooperate?

“Definitely,” Kasteel replies. “LyondellBasell, for example, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of plastics and chemicals is currently participating in the MOMENTUM research project. They’re willing to contribute and learn from our research. Having said that, I’m sure there are other manufacturers who are less willing to cooperate.”
Westerbos doesn’t have much faith in the idea. “Our ‘Beat the Microbeat’ app allows you to scan cosmetic products for microplastics. The app has been downloaded half a million times in 180 countries, so people are clearly becoming more aware. However, an aggressive lobbying effort in the European Union, led by L’Oréal, is attempting to overturn the laws on plastics. The same goes for the fashion lobby. As long as the European Union and European Commission are under pressure from industries threatening to withdraw jobs, governments will kowtow to manufacturers. It doesn’t matter that we have all sorts of wonderful plans for better legislation: if you strip away their substance, we won’t get anywhere.”

Bring your own bag when you go to the supermarket and buy unpackaged fruit and vegetables.

Do you have any tips for environmentally conscious consumers

Westerbos: “Bring your own bag when you go to the supermarket and buy unpackaged fruit and vegetables. France is doing a good job in that respect; major supermarkets there have already reduced plastic packaging by a third. Single-use plastics should be banned anyway.”
Waaijers also has a useful tip: “Don’t buy any toys that will fall apart quickly. Only buy products that will last or can be reused. Focus on good quality and quality labels.” “And avoid having any plastics in your home, especially near the floor,” Westerbos recommends. “Children up to the age of six inhale six times as many tiny plastic particles in the home as adults. Children are smaller and dust, which is full of these plastics, tends to be on the floor.”

Is that also affecting pets?

“There hasn’t been much research on that yet,” Waaijers points out. Last year, the Plastic Soup Foundation commissioned a study on plastic in animal feed, in cow and pig meat and blood, and cow’s milk, Westerbos explains. “Plastic was found in almost all the samples. So that also finds its way into our burgers.”

Kasteel believes pets may be ingesting plastics through plastic toys. “The regulations aren’t as strict as the ones for things like children’s toys. Dogs and cats also live closer to the floor and lick up all sorts of things. We should actually be vacuuming on a daily basis. Proper ventilation is also important, and it’s less work than vacuuming.” The problem is, that just funnels all the pollution outside, Waaijers points out. “That was also confirmed by an RIVM study on microplastics in the ambient air.”

As researchers, we have an explicit duty to communicate clearly about our research.

What role are researchers playing in the effort to raise awareness about microplastics?

As researchers, we have an explicit duty to communicate effectively about our research,” project manager Kasteel stresses. “Science communication has always been a bit overlooked, and researchers mainly tend to communicate with fellow researchers rather than the general public. That’s something we need to focus on more.”

MOMENTUM: Large-scale study on the health effects of microplastics

MOMENTUM is a Dutch consortium researching the potentially harmful effects of micro- and nanoplastics on human health. The initiative involves 32 partners from different knowledge institutions and industries. MOMENTUM is being funded by organisations including ZonMw and Health~Holland.

Visit momentummicroplastics. co.uk for a full list of participating partners.

Professors Juliette Legler and Dick Vethaak of Utrecht University (Faculty of Veterinary Medicine) are coordinating the project. Recently, the project received an extra boost thanks to additional funding from ZonMw (MOMENTUM 2.0).

Also see the 'Een Vandaag' item (in Dutch) on Microplastics broadcast on 1 March this year, in which researcher Emma Kasteel discusses the growing evidence of Microplastics' harmful impact.

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