A Realistic Guide to Ditching Microplastics
- Alex Kelly
- Feb 23
- 6 min read
Updated: Apr 2
Scroll down for the cooking/baking section for coffee pod swaps
Scroll down to the kid/baby section to see our highchair set up!
The Dangers of Microplastics
A 2024 study out of the University of New Mexico estimated the accumulation of microplastics in the human brain has increased by 50% in the last 8 years.
Microplastics are microscopic particles from plastics that breakdown due to weathering, friction, heat, etc. Microplastics disturb the digestive, endocrine, reproductive, and immunity systems. They have been found in the feces of infants, including in their meconium. One study found that infants have 10-20x higher concentrations of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) microplastics in their stool than adults (1). There are multiple studies suggesting a link between microplastics and early puberty (2).
Ditching Microplastics: where to start?
First, I want to encourage you to not let fear overcome. There is no good that comes from that. We can move forward in proactiveness, but letting fear run rampant in our lives will do nothing for our health and quality of living.
Microplastics cannot be avoided completely. Let’s acknowledge that, and then focus on where we can eliminate as much as we can within our means.
I recommend focusing on plastic products in your house that come into contact with food and/or the mouth, especially ones that are prone to breakdown by friction, weathering or heat.
This typically means starting in the kitchen with things like:
Tupperware
Pots/Pans
Cooking utensils
Cutting boards
Water bottles
Baby bottles
Cups/Bowls/Plates/Eating Utensils
Avoid PFAS in teflon and nonstick coatings. what about “safer” coatings like ceramic-coated pots/pans? I prefer to stick with simple cast iron, glass, or 100% stainless steel and ceramic, because it takes the guess out of “what’s underneath the coating if/when it starts to scratch and peel?”
Coffee Pods
One “food” item I do highly recommend swapping is plastic coffee pods since this is hot water running through plastic directly into your drink. Consider these instead:
french press (this is what we use with Purity coffee)
we get whole beans and use this grinder, but Purity also makes ground coffee
More on safer coffee & creamers HERE.
I would make it a high priority to avoid plastic cutting boards. Every swipe of the knife inserts microplastics into the food for consumption. best option would be a solid one piece of wood finished with coconut oil or beeswax (like scatter creek boards or stenwood lab). next best option would be any quality wood cutting board, which are usually finished with a mineral oil. glass, stainless steel, and granite are also great options but can be tough on knives. Browse cutting board options here.
When it comes to kids my favorite material is stainless steel, because it’s break-proof and super sturdy.
For a demo on who the Boob Cube silicone breast-milk storage works CLICK HERE. When it comes to breast-milk storage, let's be honest, plastic is the most convenient and space saving. If you decide to still use plastic (we have many times!), I would just recommend not defrosting the milk in hot water.
Some of our personal favorite plastic free kids products:
Olababy silicone straw cup
Elk & Friends stainless steel straw cups
Fimibuke straw cup
Thermos Funtainer (great cup for traveling/diaper bag)
Plastic Free Toys
Personally outside of the baby stage where everything is being put in the mouth, plastic toys are not a battle we choose. I prefer to thrift toys, as well as choose toys that allow open-ended play and will grow with a child. However, is this is a battle you would like to choose, I have lists of plastic free toys by age range (newborn to three+ years). I also have a list of toys we, personally own (these are not all plastic free).
Plastic Free High-Chair
So, personally, we want a high-chair that is affordable, does not take up a lot of space, and it easy to clean. For us, that's the IKEA high-chair. The tray is plastic, but we use this silicone tray cover. We also love this pillow that goes with it. It helps baby sit up better in it, and you can also travel with it to use with restaurant high-chairs.
What About Silicone?
Many people are leery of silicone because of how porous it is, and are concerned about what all it may “trap.” Others believe it to, potentially, be this generation’s plastic as there isn’t a lot of information about its composition and materials used.
My stance is, we know what we know about the harms of plastic. We don’t know what we don’t know about potential harms of silicone. So if the only choice is between plastic or silicone, I would say silicone is the “better” choice. However, the best options are always going to be stainless steel, glass, and a high quality wood - depending.
What is BPA?
BPA stands for bisphenol A, an industrial chemical used to make certain plastics and resin since the 50's.
BPA’s are found in polycarbonate plastics, most commonly used in food and beverage containers; and in epoxy resins, used to coat the inside of metal products like food cans, bottle tops, and supply lines.
There is research showing that BPA can seep into food and beverages from their containers, which is a concern because of the health effects BPA has on the brain and prostate gland of fetuses, infants, and children (3,4,5). There is also a link between BPA and high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease (6).
BPA mimics the estrogen hormone when it enters the body. According to the AAP, BPA can potentially effect the timing of puberty, decrease fertility, increase body fat, and affect the nervous and immune systems (7,8,9).
Is BPA Free Safe?
BPA-Free plastic is made of BPA substitutes that may be equally as harmful. Two of these substitutes include BPS (bisphenol S) and BPF (bisphenol F). A 2019 study showed a correlation between BPS and BPF and obesity in children and teens (10).
In 2017 the EPA tested the endocrine disruption of BPA, BPS, BPF, BPAP, BPAF, BPZ, and BPB. Every single one displayed estrogenic effects; and BPAF, BPB, and BPZ were all stronger than BPA (11).
A 2018 experiment exposed female mice fetuses and newly born male mice to small amounts of common BPA substitutes. This resulted in abnormal eggs and lower sperm counts that continued on for three generations (12).
A large misconception is that BPA free plastics do not contain microplastics. This is not true. If something is plastic, whether BPA free or not, most likely it will contain microplastics. BPA free simply means it is not made with bisphenol A, and the microplastics will not leach BPA. However, they can leach whichever substitute its made with.
Sources:
1 Occurrence of Polyethylene Terephthalate and Polycarbonate Microplastics in Infant and Adult Feces. Junjie Zhang, Lei Wang, Leonardo Trasande, and Kurunthachalam Kannan. Environmental Science & Technology Letters 2021 8 (11), 989-994. DOI: 10.1021/acs.estlett.1c00559
2 Papadimitriou A, Papadimitriou DT. Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals and Early Puberty in Girls. Children (Basel). 2021 Jun 10;8(6):492. doi: 10.3390/children8060492. PMID: 34200537; PMCID: PMC8226958.
3 Kyoko Itoh, Takeshi Yaoi, Shinji Fushiki; Bisphenol A, an endocrine-disrupting chemical, and brain development
4 Grohs, M.N., Reynolds, J.E., Liu, J. et al. Prenatal maternal and childhood bisphenol a exposure and brain structure and behavior of young children.
5 Wolstenholme JT, Rissman EF, Connelly JJ. The role of Bisphenol A in shaping the brain, epigenome and behavior.
6 Bae S, Hong YC. Exposure to bisphenol A from drinking canned beverages increases blood pressure: randomized crossover trial. Hypertension. 2015 Feb
7 Johanna R. Rochester, Bisphenol A and human health: A review of the literature, Reproductive Toxicology
8 Ayelet Ziv-Gal, Ph.D.; Jodi A. Flaws, Ph.D. Evidence for bisphenol A-induced female infertility: a review (2007–2016)
9 Ejaredar, M., Lee, Y., Roberts, D. et al. Bisphenol A exposure and children’s behavior: A systematic review. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 27, 175–183 (2017)
10 Melanie H Jacobson, Miriam Woodward, Wei Bao, Buyun Liu, Leonardo Trasande, Urinary Bisphenols and Obesity Prevalence Among U.S. Children and Adolescents, Journal of the Endocrine Society, Volume 3, Issue 9, September 2019, Pages 1715–1726
11 Robin Mesnage, Alexia Phedonos, Matthew Arno, Sucharitha Balu, J. Christopher Corton, Michael N. Antoniou, Editor’s Highlight: Transcriptome Profiling Reveals Bisphenol A Alternatives Activate Estrogen Receptor Alpha in Human Breast Cancer Cells, Toxicological Sciences, Volume 158, Issue 2, August 2017, Pages 431–443
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