Hacker News Reader

Comment by harimau777 | Hacker News Reader

Is there a viable way to actually avoid microplastics?

I've been trying to avoid them and it's though. I use glass water bottles, ideally would prefer something like reverse osmosis but not so practical. Remove as much plastic as possible in your daily life: clothes, food containers, bed sheets, etc. Don't eat food that came to contact with plastics and certainly don't eat up food in plastic containers.

Vacuum regularly, use a HEPA filtering system to reduce harmful particles in the air, not much you can do when you're outside, living far from roads could help (a significant amount of microplastics comes from car tires, apparently).

> ideally would prefer something like reverse osmosis but not so practical

Just curious why that is? I was going to buy one for my new house and they seem pretty practical, at least for drinking water at home.

I live in a small place that I rent so I don't have so much space for the system, but if you have the space for it I would say it's worth it! I would also love to have RO for my shower but I haven't found a solution for that.

The RO filtration membrane is also made of plastic. I haven’t found a way to avoid microplastics even though I have my own well and have an RO system.

You're correct, your RO system should reduce the amount of microplastics significantly though, to a point that makes your water much safer than most common options.

Maybe? You’re literally forcing water under high pressure across a plastic membrane, to me it feels like that would add a tremendous amount of microplastics to the water. I don’t know what the answer is though since I can’t seem to find any real studies around this.

FFP3 and N95 masks will stop micro and nano plastics but the issue is its polypropylene, so the question becomes how much it sheds verses how much it blocks. Most of the PM2.5/10 tests against these masks shows they are better than outside air but I don't think the exact composition is fully understood. Based on how its sort blown molten fibres I suspect it sheds quite large bits of plastic if it does.

It's pretty much impossible to completely avoid microplastics. They're literally raining down on us at this stage. But it's parts per millions to consider.

I remember seeing a video about how all gortex and basically all waterproof great releases microplastics into the environment and then the rain basically carries it everywhere. If I find it ill post it.

This https://youtu.be/-ht7nOaIkpI?si=avIcOa76alLdbAqo ?

That's exactly the one, was a big eye opener to me at least.

Agreed. Didn't expect the results he got.

Tires as well.

People think in terms of food packaging, and they certainly should. But the danger is actually everywhere in our modern life. The cars, the homes, the clothes, the food, the phones, the computers, the blankets, the sheets, the carpet, and so on and so forth.

It's a good point. As much of a miracle as rubbers and plastics have been.. There is a downside. A revolutionary innovation/invention would be some kind of passive cleaning system..

All synthetic clothing material sheds stuff constantly from abrasion and in much larger quantities when washing and drying.

Joining the Amish ? But they’re finding microplastics in the air at 5000m of altitude, as well as in the blood of fetuses, so even them are probably contaminated.

I think the only things one can do at this point is avoiding the worse sources of microplastics, e.g. heating food in plastic containers

You can reduce the exposure but I doubt you can eliminate it. Live far away from roads, live outside of cities, avoid all plastic containers for water/food, avoid synthetic clothes/bed sheets/towels/&c.

"Live far away from roads"

I guess it's microplastics for me

Or HEPA filters in every room.

I've felt better ever since covid made these omnipresent where I live.

Cries in New York accent

So I guess it depends on your definition of "viable"

I've read regular blood donations can reduce microplastics at least somewhat, and that's a good thing to do anyway

I started taking tea out of plastic teabags and dumping it into a tea sock.

You can buy loose tea and get metal tea stirrers that contain it which is about the best way to avoid the plastic. Still comes sealed in a plastic bag though, its very hard to avoid plastics at all.

But the tea that I like only comes in plastic tea bags!

Reply on news.ycombinator.com