In today's world, microplastics have become an increasingly concerning issue, infiltrating various aspects of our lives. These tiny particles, often invisible to the naked eye, can be found in the air we breathe, the water we drink, the dust that settles around us, and even in the food we consume. The pervasive presence of microplastics raises questions about their potential health impacts and the urgent need to minimise our exposure to them.
A recent article in The Guardian highlights the significance of this issue and provides valuable insights into reducing our exposure to microplastics.
From the article:
"At the moment, says Stephanie Wright, an environmental toxicologist at Imperial College, London, a lack of epidemiological and in-human data means we don’t yet know the harmful effects of microplastics, but 'I would say reducing particle exposure in general (including microplastic) is likely to be beneficial'."
"When you start observing your plastic use, it’s hard not to spiral. “I think we can stress ourselves out over all of these things and put too much focus on it,” says Mark Taylor [chief environmental scientist at the EPA]."
"Keeping a clean house is something anyone can do to reduce exposure. 'The carpets, the curtains, the sofa, most of those are probably not made from fully natural fabrics, and they degrade and their fibres accumulate', he says. All that dust and fluff that balls up like tumbleweed under sofas, or twinkles in sunbeams after you plump a cushion, will contain plastic fibres."
"On a personal level, he says, he makes choices based on unnecessary exposure, but also as an act of consumer protest – 'every little action matters'."
At Twist and Sprout, we do our best to remove plastic from our products, packaging and transport. In the future, we hope to have glass and metal containers for all products. At the moment, they are much, much more expensive than plastic bulk containers, and as such some of our bulk refill products are in plastic. These plastic tubs are food safe, are kept in good condition, and will be safely disposed of before they start to degrade. We also don't have much of a choice in what packaging our bulk cleaning and body products are shipped in. As it stands, plastic drums are the mainstay of bulk products and we have not found any suppliers that will either take and reuse the drums, or switch them out for metal (with the exception of our oil suppliers).
To reduce the amount of plastic circulating through the environment, we still have choices we can make to remove single use plastic from our lives. After all, half of all plastic produced is designed to be single use, and it is discarded promptly and is more likely to end up as litter, contributing to the microplastics in our soil and waterways.
Shopping at a store like Twist and Sprout by bringing in your containers to refill prevents the need for an individual plastic packet to be produced. Every time you refill your spray bottle of cleaning product or laundry liquid, you are saving that next plastic bottle from being manufactured. These small actions make a difference over time.
Drop in to the shop at 62 Mackay St, Rochester, or check out the range online to start reducing your impact on microplastics today.
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