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Another week, another study showing how to-go coffee cups leach microplastics.
This is a topic we’ve covered a lot (and rightfully so—it’s scary to think we’re all drinking bits of plastic!). We’ve brought you news of several studies that show to-go cups shed microplastics, and many focus on how heat and hot liquids break down the lining of to-go cups.
Well, let’s keep piling on. Researchers in Australia came to the same conclusion, but took it a step further. Their study, published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials: Plastics, found that higher temperatures “sharply increases” the release of microplastics from several types of plastic.
In an article for The Conversation, study co-author Xiangyu Liu noted two important trends. First, the type of cup matters. “The paper cups with plastic linings released fewer microplastics than the all-plastic cups,” Liu wrote. Secondly, heat plays a big role in how microplastics shed: “For the all-plastic cups, switching from cold to hot water increased the microplastic release by about 33%.”
What we still don’t know is whether microplastics are harmful. Over the years, studies have found microplastics in human brains, blood, and many other areas of the body. However, as Damian Carrington recently reported for The Guardian, some researchers have raised doubts over the methodology and results of several high-profile studies that found microplastics in the body.
One concern critics have is that, because microplastics are so small, even the latest state-of-the-art equipment can’t properly measure them. Additionally, some researchers questioned the methodologies and analytical approaches of the studies.
“This is really forcing us to re-evaluate everything we think we know about microplastics in the body,” said chemist Roger Kuhlman. “Which, it turns out, is really not very much. Many researchers are making extraordinary claims, but not providing even ordinary evidence.”
Photo by Layne Harris on Unsplash
