Who is Mechanisms of Microplastic Uptake?

Microplastics are tiny plastic pieces that get into our bodies through things we eat and drink, like water or food.

Imagine you're eating a piece of candy that's covered in a sticky layer, like gum. Now imagine that sticky layer is microplastic. When you bite into the candy, some of those tiny plastic bits go inside you, just like how crumbs get stuck in your teeth. That’s one way your body can take in microplastics.

Sometimes, microplastics are already mixed into food or water before we eat it. They're so small that they're hard to see, like sand in a clear glass of water. When you drink the water, those tiny bits go down your throat and into your stomach, kind of like how a fish swallows a pebble.

Other times, microplastics get inside our food or drinks after we’ve already eaten them. Like when you're eating chips and a bit of microplastic gets stuck between the pieces, it's like finding a tiny piece of plastic in your sandwich!

So whether they come from outside or inside, microplastics can end up in your body just like crumbs or bits of food do, one small bite at a time.