Is Your Kitchen a Microplastic Factory?

At last year’s Green Drinks gathering at fulFILLed Lifestyle Co., the room went quiet when a guest doctor shared a fact that landed like a punch: the average person now carries about a plastic spoon’s worth of microplastic in their brain. Not in our oceans, not in our landfills…in our BRAIN! Everyone in the room wanted to know where the plastics come from and how it ends up in our body.

In this article, I’ll be examining several potential culprits from one particular room in our home—the kitchen—aka the microplastic factory. 

Let’s start by quickly reviewing what microplastics are. Microplastics are tiny plastic particles that are less than 5 mm in size. They form when larger plastic items break down through abrasion, heat, and chemical processes. 

Here’s what science is revealing about some of the common kitchen items that unintentionally make microplastics part of your dinner.

1. Plastic Cutting Boards

If you just make the “eek” face, you’re not alone. As a former journalist, I spent years reporting on environmental issues, and now I own a business that’s focused on helping people remove toxins and single-use plastics from their life…and yet, I only just removed plastic cutting boards from my home a few years ago! 

The misinformation out there that plastic is easy to clean and therefore the most safe option is difficult to deprogram. Here are a few facts that could make that switch away from plastic cutting boards a no-brainer (see what I did there?).

Every knife stroke on a plastic cutting board scrapes off microplastics that can stick to your food or wash into wastewater. A 2023 study published in Environmental Science & Technology found that chopping vegetables on plastic boards made of polyethylene or polypropylene can release millions of microplastic particles over a year of typical use—an estimated 14-79 million particles annually.

Instead of plastic, choose cutting boards made of wood, bamboo, marble, or, my favorite, tempered glass. Like plastic, glass is easy to clean making it a great surface to cut meat and poultry. I use my wood and bamboo cutting boards for fruits, vegetables, and cheeses.

2. Sponges & Scrubbers 

Many common kitchen sponges shed tiny plastic fibers as they wear down with scrubbing and rinsing. Every scrub, wipe, and rinse risks releasing microplastics from your sponges and cleaning cloths. 

Even though you can’t see them, these microplastics don’t vanish. They can end up on your dishes, aka in your food, or rinse down the sink and into the wastewater.

Instead of plastic sponges, consider switching to natural sponges, bamboo scrub brushes, plant-fiber loofahs, or cotton dishcloths to scrub your dishes and countertops. 

3. Plastic Containers & Microwaving

Whatever you do, don’t do this! 

Heating food in plastic containers, even ones labeled “microwave-safe” increases microplastic shedding. When plastics are heated, scratched, or repeatedly washed, they break down and can release plastic particles into your food. 

Research has shown that microwaving plastic containers can release millions of micro- and nanoplastic particles into food from just a few minutes of heating. 

“Microwave-safe” plastic only means that the material has been tested to withstand high heat without warping, melting, or breaking down structurally. It does not mean that it is safe for your health. The label does not guarantee that plastic won’t leach chemicals like BPA or phthalates into your food. 

Instead, store and reheat food in glass or ceramic containers.

4. Tea Bags and Plastic Wrap

Do you know what these things have in common? They’re both made of plastic. 

Many conventional tea bags contain polypropylene, which can release billions of microplastics when steeped in hot water. 

Plastic cling wrap, resealable plastic bags, and disposable takeaway packaging also shed microscopic fragments of plastic when stretched, cut, or heated. 

Instead, use loose-leaf tea and strainers, beeswax wraps, silicone bags, or reusable glass storage to avoid plastics in the pantry, and ultimately, in your body. 

While the full health impacts of microplastics in our bodies is still being studied, the science is clear—we are eating what we make, chop, heat, and wash. But your kitchen doesn’t have to be a microplastic factory. With a few simple swaps you can significantly reduce the amount of plastic particles entering your meals and your body.