Biodegradable plastics you say? Nope. They form even MORE microplastics than nonbiodegradable. “More microplastics from biodegradable polymer than non-biodegradable polymer were observed.”

Microplastics Cause Damage To Human Cells, Study Shows, The Guardian, 8 December 2021

Excerpts:

Microplastics cause damage to human cells in the laboratory at the levels known to be eaten by people via their food, a study has found.

The harm included cell death and allergic reactions and the research is the first to show this happens at levels relevant to human exposure.

Microplastics pollution has contaminated the entire planet, from the summit of Mount Everest to the deepest oceans.

“Harmful effects on cells are in many cases the initiating event for health effects,” said Evangelos Danopoulos, of Hull York Medical School, UK, and who led the research published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials.* “We should be concerned. Right now, there isn’t really a way to protect ourselves.”

“Once the plastic is in the environment, we can’t really get it out.”

In October, scientists showed that babies fed formula milk in plastic bottles were swallowing millions of particles a day.

* A Rapid Review And Meta-regression Analyses Of The Toxicological Impacts Of Microplastic Exposure In Human Cells, Journal of Hazardous Materials, Online 24 November 2021

Finding ways to degrade plastic (bacteria, enzymes, light) is not the answer. It’s an out for plastic manufacturers. It lets them continue production. The answer is to stop plastic production.