Janis Petzel, MD
Stop drinking water from plastic bottles
A recent analysis of commercially available bottled water published in the “Proceedings of the National Academy of Science” showed a quarter of a million tiny plastic fragments in each liter of water, the bulk of which were nanoparticles (90%), much higher contamination than previously realized. Plastic particles easily infiltrate the human blood stream. Bottled water also contains plastic-related chemicals such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Some of the plastic contaminants (like polyamide or polystyrene), may have come from the filters used to “purify” the water.
Avoid microwaving food, baby food or water for formula in plastic containers or pouches
A 2023 paper from Environmental and Science Technology reported that “some containers could release as many as 4.22 million microplastic and 2.11 billion nanoplastic particles from only one square centimeter of plastic area within three minutes of microwave heating.”
Do your best to keep plastics and PFASs from touching your food
Avoid non-stick pans that have plastic-based coatings, because these types release PFASs into the air and the food when heated.
Food packaging is loaded with PFASs—at least 68 types of paper, plastic, and coated metal packaging– according to Switzerland’s Food Packaging Forum Foundation, as reported in Ecowatch. Storing food in plastic and even cutting food on plastic cutting boards leads to significant plastic particles of nano- and micro-particle sizes in the food. Glass may be the only safe alternative for food storage.
Avoid chemicals on your skin
Let the buyer beware. Cosmetics, sunblock, coated dental floss and even toilet paper may contain PFASs. Bidets are relatively inexpensive, easy enough to install or retrofit to your toilet, and help cut down on paper in the waste stream.
Removing PFASs and plastics from drinking water
Good news: Many pitcher-type water purifiers seem to work pretty well, according to both the National Academies of Sciences’ 2022 report, and from ewg.org, the non-profit group that publishes Dirty Dozen reports on fruits and vegetables. There is a potential issue with plastics from the filters getting in to the water (similar to the issue in bottled water). I have a glass Life Straw pitcher which I got as a gift from my daughter. Their specification sheets say it works, and my coffee tastes better. I have not had my water tested to be sure.
There are lots of filter systems out there, from under $50 to thousands of dollars that claim to remove PFASs, plastics and other substances. Some seem to work; some don’t based on my internet searches (but none remove 100% of PFASs). There is almost no data on effective use in the real world outside a test lab. Taking care to maintain your system and to use fresh filters is important.
Avoid single use plastics and household items in plastic bottles
There are companies that provide household items that are not stored in plastic. For example, Ancestral French Soaps, a small business in Maine, makes laundry and personal use soaps from olive oil which are minimally wrapped (in paper) and there are no weird chemicals in the soaps. Owner Nancy Durand Larson said that in 2023, she estimates her customers saved 47,000-plus plastic bottles of shampoo, dish soap and body wash from entering the waste stream.
Choose clothing, furniture, carpets, etc. made from natural fabrics
Synthetic fabrics are notorious for shedding microplastic fibers. Even natural fibers may be coated or treated with waterproofing, stain resistance chemicals or fire retardants. It can be difficult to know what you’re getting. Read labels. Go to manufacturers’ websites. Ask questions.
Stop microfibers from your laundry from entering the water stream (maybe)
A few small companies make filters for washing machines. The New York Times reviewed some of them in its Wirecutter blog. Some of the companies have third- party independent labs verify their claims. Consumers are still pretty much on their own to decide if these filters work ().
You cannot depend on recycling to get rid of plastics
Those little triangles with the numbers? The system was developed by the fossil fuel industry as a way to greenwash the fact that recycling plastics is economically and technically unfeasible, according to the Maine Conservation Voters excellent Lunch and Learn on the topic at: https://www.youtube.com/recycling.
Likewise, the concept of “Advanced Recycling” is not recycling. It’s chemical degradation with toxic chemicals or incineration. Don’t let it happen in your state. See the Center for Climate Integrity’s report, the Fraud of Plastic Recycling (https://climateintegrity.org/plastics-fraud.
Vote Wisely
Plastic and chemical pollution are systemic problems that need an all-hands-on-deck approach to solve. We need leaders at all levels of government who take this problem seriously.
Janis Petzel, MD is a physician, grandmother and climate activist whose writing focuses on resilience, climate, and health. She lives in Islesboro, Maine where she advocates and acts for a fossil-fuel free future. She serves on the Islesboro Energy Team and is a Climate Ambassador for Physicians for Social Responsibility.
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Sources:
https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/plastic-particles-bottled-water#:~:text=The%20researchers%20found%20that%2C%20on,mostly%20focused%20on%20larger%20microplastics. A summary of the findings in the PNAS journal article about particles in bottled water.
https://www.ecowatch.com/food-packaging-pfas-forever-chemicals.html
Cutting Boards: An Overlooked Source of Microplastics in Human Food?
Himani Yadav, Md Rakib Hasan Khan, Mohiuddin Quadir, A Rusch, Partho Pritom Mondal, Megan Orr , Elvis Genbo Xu, Syeed Md Iskander Environ. Sci. Technol.
2023 Jun 6;57(22):8225-8235.
doi: 10.1021/acs.est.3c00924. Epub 2023 May 23.
Assessing the Release of Microplastics and Nanoplastics from Plastic Containers and Reusable Food Pouches: Implications for Human Health
Kazi Albab Hussain, Svetlana Romanova, Ilhami Okur, Dong Zhang, Jesse KueblerXi Huang, Bing Wang, Lucia Fernandez-Ballester, Yongfeng Lu, Mathias SchubertYusong Li. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2023 Jul 4;57(26):9782-9792.
doi: 10.1021/acs.est.3c01942. Epub 2023 Jun 21.
Personal communication from Nancy Durand Lanson at Ancestral French Soaps: https://www.ancestralfrenchsoaps.com/
nancy@ancestralfrenchsoaps.com
In 2023, estimates from the use of her products:
21609 Shampoo and conditioner plastic bottles saved!
5141 Dish detergents kept out of the water system.
4640 Shaving cans
492 Pet soap bottles
15288 Liquid hand and body wash
47170, the number of single-use plastic bottles saved total in 2023 by those who cleaned with Ancestral French Soaps.
And 157374 single use plastic bottles since 2018.
https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/blog/reduce-laundry-microfiber-pollution/
“Assessing the Effectiveness of Point-of-Use Residential Drinking Water Filters for Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS),” Nicholas J. Herkert, John Merrill, Cara Peters, David Bollinger, Sharon Zhang, Detlef R.U. Knappe, Kate Hoffman, P. Lee Ferguson and Heather M. Stapleton; Feb. 5, 2019, Environmental Science & Technology Letters. DOI: 10.1021/acs.estlett.0c00004
https://www.ewg.org/research/ewgs-2024-guide-countertop-water-filters
https://static.ewg.org/ewg-tip-sheets/EWG-AvoidingPFCs.pdf
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2a0UE4qCWMTdVA4vnG7JcA
From Maine Conservation Voters, March 22, 2024, Center for Climate Integrity presentation on the Fraud of Plastic Recycling.
https://climateintegrity.org/ Report: The Fraud of Plastic Recycling.
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