Microplastics seem entirely unavoidable: They’re in our tea bags, our food, even our blood. Since plastic doesn’t biodegrade, it continues to break down into smaller and smaller particles—enter micro- and nanoplastics, whose size can range from less than 5 millimeters to as small as 1 micrometer (1/25,000th of an inch).
We breathe in and consume those particles on a regular basis—a study from December 2023 in the journal Environmental Pollution determined that people are ingesting as much as 3.8 million microplastics per year from meat alone. Scientists are finding that such frequent exposure can negatively impact brain health, fertility, and the gut microbiome.
But just because we hear that microplastics are everywhere, it doesn’t mean we can’t—and shouldn’t—try to reduce our exposure. Here are five ways you can start reducing your exposure.
1. Avoid plastic water bottles—and boil your water
A 2019 study published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology estimated that people who drank exclusively bottled water were ingesting an additional 90,000 microplastics per year—but switching to just tap water could reduce that number to 4,000.
Another study from 2024 revealed that boiling your tap water could remove at least 80% of potential micro- and nanoplastics.
2. Choose your tea carefully
A study published in November investigated the release of micro and nanoplastics from three empty tea bags purchased from Amazon, online shopping site AliExpress, and from a supermarket. Researchers found that tea bags made with the plastic substance polypropylene—used to heat-seal tea bags shut—released about 1.2 billion small pieces of plastic per milliliter of tea, while bags made with nylon-6 released 135 million pieces, and those made with cellulose released 8.2 million nano-range (extremely tiny) plastic particles.
The three types of tea bags that the researchers tested are commonly found in your grocery store or online. But which tea bags should you avoid at the grocery store?
These brands, according to the Center for Environmental Health, don’t use plastic in their tea bags:
- Traditional Medicinals
- Pukka
- Numi Teas
- Republic of Tea
- Stash
- Yogi Tea
You can always skip the tea bag, and opt for loose leaf tea, which you can steep using a metal or food-grade silicone tea infuser.
3. Avoid plastic in the kitchen
Experts told Fortune that refraining from microwaving, cooking, or even storing and freezing food in plastic is a simple step that you can take to reduce your exposure to microplastics and the chemicals within them. Heating food in plastic containers can leach microplastics directly into your food, while cooking with or using plastic utensils poses a similar risk.
Instead, you can choose glass or metal containers, and bamboo, wooden, metal, or food-grade silicone utensils.
Experts also warned to try to eat lower on the food chain to avoid higher concentrations of plastics and endocrine disruptors in the bodies of animals that consume plants and other prey that contain microplastics.
4. Minimize use of certain personal care products
According to the Environmental Working Group, many personal care and beauty products are made with phthalates, a harmful endocrine-disrupting chemical in fragrances or within the plastic packaging itself.
Read more from Fortune
Beat the Microbead is a campaign bringing awareness to the presence of microplastics in cosmetic products. The name refers to a commonly added plastic—microbeads—used for scrubbing or exfoliating.
Avoiding products with microbeads and phthalates can help reduce your microplastic exposure—but if you want to take it a step further, you can shop for plastic-free products like solid shampoos and conditioners, bar soap, and facial cleansing bars.
5. Keep your home clean and synthetic fibers out
Indoor air and house dust can be one of the biggest exposure sites for microplastics, a study from 2022 revealed. Regular wear-and-tear releases plastic particles from flooring, furniture, clothing, and carpets into the air we breathe. The study also pointed to shoes tracking in microplastic particles from outside.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) warns that clothes made with synthetic fibers—polyester, rayon, acrylic, nylon, or spandex—are full of microplastics in the form of microfibers. Choosing clothes with plastic-free natural fibers like organic cotton, wool, linen can help reduce your body’s contact with microplastics and the amount that is released from washing and drying synthetic clothes.
The EPA recommends the following to help reduce overall microfiber pollution:
- Wash clothing less often.
- Only wash full loads of laundry. This results in less friction between clothes and reduces shedding of synthetic fibers.
- Wash laundry with cold water for a shorter period of time.
- If possible, use a front-loading washer. A 2016 study by University of California, Santa Barbara showed that top-load washing machines produced significantly more microfibers than front-loading machines.
- Install an external microfiber filter on your washing machine and/or use a microfiber- catching laundry ball or bag. There are several commercially available external lint filters, or more affordable products like wash bags and laundry balls designed to capture microfibers. Then, throw out any collected microfibers in the trash.
As with clothing, try to opt for furniture and carpets made from natural fibers. Additionally, try not to walk through your home with your shoes on to avoid potentially bringing in more microplastics, and make sure you vacuum and sweep often.
For more on public health:
- Some protein powders contain cancer-causing toxins, new study shows, and these 3 types are the worst offenders
- L’Oreal recalls acne treatment on cancer-linked chemical
- Millions of Americans—especially Gen X—are dealing with psychiatric disorders associated with leaded gasoline exhaust, new study finds
- Endocrine-disrupting chemicals are everywhere. Here’s how to reduce your exposure
