The average Joe ingests about 5 grams of plastic — the equivalent of munching down a credit card — every week, a study commissioned by the WWF has found.

The study, conducted by researchers from the University of Newcastle in Australia, examined the impact of plastic pollution on human nutrition globally by reviewing and analyzing existing scientific literature on this subject. The results suggest that humans are unwittingly swallowing an alarming amount of plastic along with the food and beverages we consume every day.

Depending on the types of foods and beverages we ingest, it is estimated that around 5 grams of plastic is consumed per person each week, with much of this being ingested with common daily staples such as drinking water, your favorite beer, shellfish and even salt.

The study identified drinking water as the primary source of plastic ingestion, estimating that the average person ingests 1769 particles of microplastic each week with the water they drink.

Are There Microplastics in Bottled Water?

Plastic particles have been found in surface water, groundwater, bottled water and tap water all around the world. A study on bottled water found that all samples tested contained microplastics.

Plastics were found in tap water samples all around the world, with tap water in the US being one of the most contaminated in the world. In the US tap water sampled, 94.4% of the samples contained microplastic fibers, with an average count of 4.8 plastic microfibers per 500 milliters. Lebanon had the highest percentage of tap water samples containing plastics (98%), with an average count of 4.4 microplastic fibers per 500 milliters of water.

Other dietary sources of plastic ingestion include shellfish (182 particles per person per week), salt (11 particles p/p) and beer (10 particles p/p).

Another study that was recently published in the American Chemical Society's journal Environmental Science & Technology found that the average American consumes between 74,000 and 121,000 bits of microplastic every year, and for people who choose bottled water over tap water that figure is likely to be twice as high. Besides exposure through food and beverages, we can also inhale airborne microplastics, increasing our exposure further still.

How Do Microplastics Affect Human Health?

The long-term human health implications of ingesting such large amounts of plastic are still unclear, but it is suspected the adverse health risks include damage to the lungs, liver, and brain, as well as adversely affecting fertility and sexual function, and contributing to a greater risk of cellular mutations and cancer.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) is busy conducting a review of potential health impacts of ingesting microplastics, while researchers from the University of Newcastle, Australia, are currently busy with a desktop study, synthesizing existing studies on this issue.

Does The Berkey Remove Microplastics?

The Black Berkey elements have been tested to remove viruses to the nanometer range which suggests that contaminants much larger in size, such as microplastics should also be removed.

Take the WWF's quiz to find out whether you are eating plastic?

Reference No Plastic in Nature: Assessing Plastic Pollution from Nature to People. An Analysis for WWF by Dalberg, University of Newcastle, Australia. WWF. (2019).