A new study has shown that Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines top the global per capita list of dietary intakes of microplastics.
The study published in April by Cornell University researchers mapped microplastic uptake across 109 countries. It found that Indonesians top the list and ingest about 15 grams of microplastics per month, tantamount to three credit cards, increasing their daily consumption of microplastics by 59 times from 1990 to 2018.
The lion’s share of these plastic particles is attributed to aquatic sources such as fish and seafood.
How do microplastics land in our food?
Microplastics, defined as plastic particles smaller than 5mm, are fibres, fragments or granules created when plastic products break down or are shed by synthetic textiles.
Accidental spills and improper handling of plastic pellets, the raw ingredients in plastic manufacturing, can cause them to enter the environment.
The paper’s authors noted that common waste management methods such as open dumping are falling by the wayside in handling the ever-increasing volume of discarded plastics, especially in fast-growing developing countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia. This results in more than 30,000 tonnes of mismanaged waste annually in these countries.
When not managed properly, plastic from open dumping sites or landfills can be transported into nearby water bodies via rainwater.
These are commonly ingested by phytoplankton and zooplankton, which fish and aquatic animals feed on. This results in indirect plastic ingestion in people when eating seafood.
Microplastics inhaled substantially across the world
The study, published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, found that residents of China and Mongolia inhaled the most microplastics among the 109 countries it examined, breathing in more than 2.8 million particles per month.
US residents inhale about 300,000 particles per month.
Only residents in the Mediterranean and nearby regions breathed less, with countries like Spain, Portugal and Hungary breathing about 60,000 to 240,000 particles per month, as per the study.
Dust-like airborne microplastics mainly originate from the abrasion of plastic materials, such as those in tyres, according to the study.
Synthetic textiles can also release microplastics into the air during their production, or when they are washed or worn.
“Industrialisation in developing economies, particularly in East and South Asia, has led to increased consumption of plastic materials, waste generation and human microplastic uptake,” said the study’s co-author Fengqi You, a professor in energy systems engineering at Cornell University.
However, developed countries are seeing a reverse trend as they are supported by greater economic resources to reduce and remove plastic debris, he added.
Microplastics are now an environmental issue, plaguing even the deepest parts of the ocean and the world’s highest mountain. However, there is still limited evidence to prove that microplastics are adversely impacting human health.
(With inputs from agencies)