lessplasticplease

less plastic, please.

Plastic has turned up in human blood, arteries and brains. We report what the research shows, name the companies making the mess, and vet the glass, steel, wood and clay that can replace it, against a standard we publish in full.

47 articles1121 citationsEach one links to the study it came from.

An empty green plastic bottle lying on wet sand at the water's edge, with strands of seaweed in the shallow water behind it.
What we throw away. A plastic bottle washed up on a beach in Pas-de-Calais, France. Photo: Falken, CC BY-SA 2.5
Glass jars of oats, granola, pasta and dried goods with screw-top lids on a wooden shelf, two with small handwritten paper labels.
What lasts. Dry goods stored in glass jars on a wooden pantry shelf. Photo: Shixart1985, CC BY 2.0

It's already inside us.

Three peer-reviewed findings from the last four years. Read the caveats too: finding plastic in a body is not the same as proving it causes harm.

  1. Plastic particles were measured in the blood of healthy volunteers, at a mean of 1.6 µg per milliliter: the first time plastic in human blood was quantified.

    Leslie et al., Environment International, 2022

  2. Among 257 patients followed for about 34 months, those with micro- and nanoplastics in their artery plaque had 4.5 times the risk of heart attack, stroke or death. The study shows an association, not proof of cause.

    Marfella et al., New England Journal of Medicine, 2024

  3. Microplastic levels in human brain and liver samples rose significantly between 2016 and 2024, and were higher still in brains of people diagnosed with dementia.

    Nihart et al., Nature Medicine, 2025

What it means for your health, and what it doesn't

Latest reporting

Kitchen & food storage,

The plastic inside your cans: linings, BPA and what replaced it

Canned pumpkin, cranberry sauce, broth and beans all come in a metal can with a plastic coating inside. What that lining is made of, what moves into the food, and what to do about it this Thanksgiving.

  • Food cans are lined with a thin plastic coating, for decades usually epoxy made from BPA. A 2016 survey by advocacy groups found BPA epoxy linings in 129 of 192 cans, including all 15 cans of broth and gravy.
  • In a 2004 study, most BPA had moved into the food by the end of factory processing, and heating food in its can made no appreciable difference. Salt, oil and high heat raised migration in other lab tests.
  • Polyester, PVC-based and newer bisphenol linings have been found to release their own chemicals, and replacements such as acrylic have barely been studied. 'BPA-free' is not the same as 'tested and safe'.

10-minute read, 27 sources

  1. Artificial turf and rubber playgrounds: crumb rubber, microplastics and the EU ban

    Pitches filled with ground-up tyres leak tonnes of rubber a year. What's in the crumbs, what health agencies concluded, and what the EU's 2031 infill ban does and doesn't do.

    Filed under Home & bedroom, citing 17 sources

  2. Cleaning with less plastic: refills, microfibre cloths and sponges

    Spray bottles, plastic sponges and microfibre cloths all shed or waste plastic. What the evidence says about refill tablets, concentrates, cloths and sponges, and where it runs out.

    Filed under Cleaning & laundry, citing 14 sources

  3. Microplastics in food: seafood, salt, rice and how much we really eat

    Mussels, sea salt, rice, honey, shrimp. Which food studies hold up, which used methods now criticised, and why estimates of how much plastic we eat range from micrograms to grams.

    Filed under Kitchen & food storage, citing 24 sources

  4. A parent's guide to plastic, from pregnancy to primary school

    Stage by stage, the few plastic changes with the best evidence, which ones are only precautions, and the safety rules that always come first. No guilt required.

    Filed under Baby & kids, citing 41 sources

  5. Grocery shopping with less plastic: what matters and what doesn't

    Loose produce, bulk bins, glass jars and the receipt you didn't ask for. What the evidence says about each, including the life-cycle studies where glass loses, and where your effort actually pays off.

    Filed under Kitchen & food storage, citing 9 sources

All 47 articles

Check it yourself

Start with one room

You don't have to change everything at once. Pick the room where you use the most plastic, and start there.

Room photos: Kitchen & food storage, Photo: Shixart1985, CC BY 2.0; Drinking water, Photo: Shixart1985, CC BY 2.0; Personal care & bathroom, Photo: Tony Webster from Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, CC BY 2.0; Cleaning & laundry, Photo: Gill King, CC BY-SA 2.0; Clothing & textiles, Photo: Sadarama, CC BY-SA 4.0; Baby & kids, Photo: Lucas Pescador Barcelos, CC BY-SA 4.0; Home & bedroom, Photo: Liz Lawley, CC BY-SA 2.0; On the go, Photo: Unknown (via PxHere), CC0.