Plastic Consumption: Humans Ingesting Plastic, How Much?

It is estimated that humans consume anywhere from 39,000 to 52,000 microplastic particles a year, with some estimates suggesting that number is more than 74,000 when you include inhalation. That's the equivalent of 40 pounds of plastic in a lifetime, or a credit card a week.

Humans eat 39,000 to 52,000 microplastic particles a year

Humans eat a shocking number of microplastic particles every year. A study published in the journal *Environmental Science and Technology* estimates that this number could be anywhere from 39,000 to 52,000. When you add estimates of how much microplastic might be inhaled, that number rises to over 74,000.

Microplastics are pieces of plastic smaller than five millimetres, and many are only visible under a microscope. They have been found in beer, salt, seafood, sugar, alcohol, and honey. The study that found this also looked at recommendations made by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to calculate how often one person might eat each of those items in a year.

Other estimates put the number of microplastics consumed by humans at 50 plastic bags per year, or one credit card per week. Over a lifetime, this could add up to 40 pounds of plastic.

Microplastics have been found in human placentas, and in the stomachs of fulmar seabirds in Scotland, as well as at the poles, Mount Everest, and the deepest depths of the ocean. They have also been found in the stomachs of turtles and whales, causing them to starve.

Microplastics are found in beer, salt, seafood, sugar, alcohol and honey

It is estimated that humans consume between 39,000 and 52,000 microplastic particles a year, or 40 pounds in a lifetime. This is the equivalent of one Lego brick a week, a dinner plate's worth a year, or a life buoy every decade.

Humans eat the equivalent of one Lego brick a week

Microplastics are now well-documented as having reached the poles, Mount Everest, and the deepest depths of the ocean. Ocean creatures such as turtles and whales are regularly found to have starved due to having stomachs full of plastic. A study in the journal *Environmental Science and Technology* says it's possible that humans may be consuming anywhere from 39,000 to 52,000 microplastic particles a year. With added estimates of how much microplastic might be inhaled, that number is more than 74,000.

Microplastics have been found in human placentas

Microplastics are now well-documented as having reached the most remote parts of the planet, from the poles to Mount Everest and the deepest depths of the ocean. It was, therefore, only a matter of time before they were found in human bodies. A 2019 joint study by Dalberg and the University of Newcastle in Australia revealed the extent of human plastic consumption: on average, we eat one Lego brick per week, a dinner plate's worth of plastic per year (100,000 tiny pieces), and a lifebuoy's worth every decade.

Microplastics can harm the human body

It is estimated that humans consume anywhere from 39,000 to 52,000 microplastic particles a year. With added estimates of how much microplastic might be inhaled, that number is more than 74,000. A microplastic particle is any piece of plastic smaller than five millimetres, but many are much smaller and only visible under a microscope.

Microplastics have been found in beer, salt, seafood, sugar, alcohol, and honey. They have also been found in human placentas.

Ingested microplastics can harm the human body. Estimations of the total mass of ingested microplastics correspond to 50 plastic bags per year, one credit card per week, or a median value of 4.1 μg/week for adults.

Over a lifetime, it is estimated that humans consume over 40 pounds of plastic. That's the equivalent of eating a Lego brick every week, a dinner plate (100,000 tiny pieces of plastic) every year, and a lifebuoy every decade.

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