Co-founder of ERA Environmental Management Solutions Sarah Sajed has a PhD that focuses on plastic waste. Her latest paper, published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials, looks at the science around the health risks posed by single use plastic water bottles.
Sajed writes that on average, individuals ingest between 39,000 and 52,000 microplastic particles per year, and bottled water users consume 90,000 more particles than tap water consumers.1 The microplastic particles that are ingested can range between one micron—a thousandth of a millimeter—to five millimeters; nanoplastics are smaller than one micron.
Because single-use water bottles are often made from low-quality plastic, they shed tiny pieces every time they are manipulated and exposed to sunlight and temperature fluctuations, so they are ingested directly from the source.2 Other types of plastic particles enter human bodies through the food chain.
Dr. Sajed explains that these small plastics can cross biological boundaries, enter the bloodstream and reach vital organs. This can lead to chronic inflammation, oxidative stress on cells, hormonal disruption, impaired reproduction, neurological damage and various kinds of cancer. However, the long-term effects remain poorly understood due to a lack of widespread testing and standardized methods of measurement and detection.3
Researchers use multiple methods to measure nano- and microplastics, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. Some can detect very small particles but cannot identify their chemical composition. Others can provide details about their makeup but miss the smallest plastics. The best, most advanced and most reliable tools are often extremely costly and not always available. In light of these difficulties, consumers need to understand that consistently drinking from plastic water bottles can cause chronic toxicity.
During everyday use, plastic water bottles are often subjected to repeated opening and closing, and even the simple act of squeezing a bottle to drink can cause abrasion and friction between the bottle material and water. These actions may result in the shedding of nano- and microplastics particles into the water, contributing to the overall contamination level.4
In addition to being potentially harmful to human health, single-use plastic products, such as water bottles, contribute significantly to the growing problem of plastic waste in landfills, rivers, oceans, and natural habitats. This poses severe threats to biodiversity and ecosystem stability.5
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4, 5 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304389425018643
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