Health and Me

Ishita Srivastava

Your Coffee Cup Is Exposing You To Microplastics, Study Suggests

The takeaway <span>coffee</span> cup in your hand may be releasing a sea of <span>microplastics</span> into your body every time you take a sip, a new study reveals. 

Microplastics are essentially fragments of plastic that are between 1 nanometer and 5 millimetres wide and can found in water, soil and the air. Experts estimate that about 2.7 million tonnes of microplastics seeped into the environment in 2020, an estimate expected to double by 2040. 

These fragments carry toxic chemicals and can disrupt internal biological processes, leading to inflammation, cell death, organ dysfunction, heart attacks and reproductive issues in humans. Scientists have also found links between microplastics and <span><a href="https://www.healthandme.com/health/cancer">cancer</a></span>. 

While researchers have long claimed that microplastics can enter the human body through contaminated food and water, a new Australian study suggests it can also enter through hot coffee cups. 

<h2>Why <span rel="noindex">Are Plastic Coffee Cups</span> Dangerous?</h2>Based on the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S3051060025000289?via%3Dihub" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow noreferrer" rel= "noopener nofollow noreferrer" target= "_blank">Journal of Hazardous Materials: Plastics study</a>, cups made of plastic or with a thin plastic lining can shedding thousands of tiny plastic fragments directly into your drink when filled with hot coffee.

<span>Xiangyu Liu</span>, study co-author and research fellow at School of Environment and Science and Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith University, Nathan, said this was due to <span>heat</span>. 

The team conducted a a meta-analysis on existing research and analyzed data from 30 peer-reviewed studies. During this time, they focused on how common plastics such as polyethylene and polypropylene behave under different conditions, primarily temperature. 

As the temperature of the liquid inside a container increased they noticed that the release of microplastics generally increases too. In the studies reviewed, reported releases ranged from a few hundred particles to more than 8 million particles per litre, depending on the material and study design.

Interestingly, 'soaking time' or the amount of time the drink sits in the cup was not a consistent driver, suggesting that leaving a hot drink in a plastic cup for a long time is not as important as the initial temperature of the liquid when it first hits the plastic.

After testing nearly 400 different cups, they found that if someone drinks '300 millilitres of coffee in a cup made of polyethylene per day, they could ingest 363,000 pieces of microplastic particles every year', according to Liu

<h2>What Can Be Done To Reduce Risks?</h2>

The team recommends using a reusable cup made of stainless steel, ceramic, or glass, as these materials do not shed microplastics for hot drinks. If you must use a disposable cup, its is better to drink out of a plastic-lined paper cup as they shed fewer particles than pure plastic cups, though neither is microplastic free.

They also advise not pouring  putting boiling liquids directly into plastic-lined containers. Telling the barista to make your morning coffee slightly cooler before it hits the cup can reduce the physical stress on the plastic lining and lower overall exposure.

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The takeaway coffee cup in your hand may be releasing a sea of microplastics into your body every time you take a sip, a new study reveals. Microplastics are essentially fragments of plastic that are between 1 nanometer and 5 millimetres wide and can found in water, soil and the air. Experts estimate that about 2.7 million tonnes of microplastics seeped into the environment in 2020, an estimate expected to double by 2040. These fragments carry toxic chemicals and can disrupt internal biological processes, leading to inflammation, cell death, organ dysfunction, heart attacks and reproductive issues in humans. Scientists have also found links between microplastics and cancer. While researchers have long claimed that microplastics can enter the human body through contaminated food and water, a new Australian study suggests it can also enter through hot coffee cups. Why Are Plastic Coffee Cups Dangerous?Based on the Journal of Hazardous Materials: Plastics study, cups made of plastic or with a thin plastic lining can shedding thousands of tiny plastic fragments directly into your drink when filled with hot coffee.Xiangyu Liu, study co-author and research fellow at School of Environment and Science and Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith University, Nathan, said this was due to heat. The team conducted a a meta-analysis on existing research and analyzed data from 30 peer-reviewed studies. During this time, they focused on how common plastics such as polyethylene and polypropylene behave under different conditions, primarily temperature. As the temperature of the liquid inside a container increased they noticed that the release of microplastics generally increases too. In the studies reviewed, reported releases ranged from a few hundred particles to more than 8 million particles per litre, depending on the material and study design.Interestingly, 'soaking time' or the amount of time the drink sits in the cup was not a consistent driver, suggesting that leaving a hot drink in a plastic cup for a long time is not as important as the initial temperature of the liquid when it first hits the plastic.After testing nearly 400 different cups, they found that if someone drinks '300 millilitres of coffee in a cup made of polyethylene per day, they could ingest 363,000 pieces of microplastic particles every year', according to LiuWhat Can Be Done To Reduce Risks?The team recommends using a reusable cup made of stainless steel, ceramic, or glass, as these materials do not shed microplastics for hot drinks. If you must use a disposable cup, its is better to drink out of a plastic-lined paper cup as they shed fewer particles than pure plastic cups, though neither is microplastic free.They also advise not pouring  putting boiling liquids directly into plastic-lined containers. Telling the barista to make your morning coffee slightly cooler before it hits the cup can reduce the physical stress on the plastic lining and lower overall exposure.