Microplastics Calculator play online

Plastics, due to its lightweight, mouldable, durable and lowcost, has become one of the most widely used man-made materials. Since 1950, around 8300 million metric tons (Mt) of virgin plastics have been produced and around 4900 Mt were discarded. As plastics are non-biodegradable, the discarded plastics accumulate, rather than decompose, in oceans, freshwater systems and lands. Large plastics can break down into fragments smaller than 5 mm known as microplastics (MPs) due to physical and biochemical processes. Like other persistent pollutants, MPs are now ubiquitous in the environment and have contaminated our foods and drinks. MPs have been detected in bottle water, tap water, seafood, salt, sugar, honey etc. It was estimated that the MPs consumed by an adult in the US were between 74,000 and 121,000 particles per annual through food and inhalation pathways. In 2019, World Health Organization (WHO) critically examined evidence related to the occurrence of microplastics in the water cycle and concluded that MPs have a low risk to public health due to the low level of exposure. However, several studies since the publication of the WHO report found that plastic products can release high levels of MPs when they are in contact with hot water. For example, PET/nylon teabags can release billions of MPs per cup of tea. The polypropylene (PP)-based infant feeding bottles could release millions of MPs per litre water. As plastics are widely used in food store and preparation, humans MPs consumption levels could be much higher than previously recognized. This APP can be used to calculate the number of microplastics your baby consumes due to the use of plastic products.