Microplastics have been on everyone’s lips for a few years now and – as always – packaging is one of the main culprits for biased media and an uninformed public. The Swiss Packaging Institute SVI briefly summarizes the known facts here: They show that microplastics are not a packaging problem.

Ever since the German Federal Environment Agency warned of “risks to the environment and water bodies from the use of plastic particles in skin creams, scrubs, shower gels and shampoos” in 2015, microplastics have increasingly become the focus of media and public attention. Some so-called quality media and various dubious environmental protection organizations, in their typical anti-reaction, initially blamed this primarily on jittery packaging. Today, thanks to numerous serious scientific studies and assessments, we have long known that packaging has practically nothing to do with the problem of microplastics. Nevertheless, decades of packaging bashing have apparently left ineradicable ideas in the minds of certain journalists and environmentalists.

What is microplastic?

Microplastics are small plastic particles with a diameter of less than 5 mm (5000 µm). A very small proportion of microplastic particles are produced directly for use and are added as fillers to cosmetics or toothpaste, for example, and used in baby diapers. However, by far the largest proportion of microplastic particles are produced by the decomposition of plastic products or by the decomposition of plastic waste from households and industry.

How much microplastic ends up in the environment?

A 2020 study by EBP Schweiz AG commissioned by the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) does not specify a concrete total quantity of plastic particles under 5 mm for Switzerland. From a 2018 study by the Fraunhofer Institute for Germany, around 33,000 tons of plastic particles under 5 mm can be extrapolated as the annual Swiss emission volume. In 2014, the EPF Lausanne determined around 91,000 microplastic particles per square kilometer of surface area in Swiss waters. According to Pro Natura, more recent extrapolations of water samples have shown that there are 8,133 billion microplastic particles in Lake Zurich. In the Rhine near Basel, over 200,000 microplastic particles are said to be floating per square kilometer of water surface.

How dangerous are microplastics?

There is currently no completed scientific investigation into the health risks of microplastic particles for humans. Research into the impact of microplastics on flora and fauna is also still in its infancy. In 2019, the Australian University of Newcastle published a shocking extrapolation from 51 global studies: according to this, a person ingests five grams of microplastics per week, mainly through food. This is equivalent to the weight of a credit card. However, there are major regional differences. The highest levels are in the USA and Asia. An average value for Switzerland cannot be derived from the study. How much microplastic someone ingests depends on where they live, their living conditions and their diet.

Where do microplastics come from?

It is now clear that microplastics come only to a very small extent from packaging. Most microplastics come from completely different sources, as the FOEN study from 2020 shows: Tire abrasion is by far the largest source in terms of quantity. The annual amount of tire abrasion released in Switzerland is estimated at around 10,700 tons. Sports fields and playgrounds (e.g. artificial turf) release 1120 tons of microplastics annually via drainage and swirling. Around 1000 tons of microplastics are produced during the construction and demolition of buildings and a further 320 tons through the weathering of building facades. In addition to tire abrasion, Swiss roads also contribute around 930 t of shoe sole abrasion, 770 t of road marking abrasion and 330 t of abrasion from road sweepers. A significant amount is also produced when washing synthetic textiles: around 650 tons of microplastic fibres are released into wastewater from Swiss washing machines. Total abrasion from industrial machines amounts to around 420 tons and abrasion from cleaning plastics to around 200 tons. Finally, around 2700 tons of macro- and microplastics are discharged into soil and water every year as a result of littering. This mainly includes disposable tableware and agricultural film, but also packaging. It is not known exactly what proportion is attributable to packaging. Cosmetics only account for around 15-20 tons per year.

Can microplastics in food and cosmetics come from packaging?

No, not in principle. There are practically no migratable free microplastics in the inner walls of packaging. At most, it is possible for consumers to ingest plastic particles by, for example, extremely scraping plastic cups with a knife. There is no risk whatsoever if packaging is emptied normally. If food and cosmetics are actually contaminated with microplastics, then the microplastics originate exclusively from the contents.

Conclusion

Microplastics in the environment are a problem whose impact on humans, flora and fauna cannot yet be clearly identified and quantified. It is clear that only a very small proportion of the amount of microplastics released into the Swiss environment each year comes from littered packaging. And it is also clear that the amount of microplastics ingested by humans every day does not come from the packaging, but from the contents, i.e. from contaminated food and cosmetics.