A powerful new Netflix documentary, The Plastic Detox, has explored a possible link between infertility and human exposure to microplastics. For years plastics have been framed primarily as an environmental issue in the way they pollute terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. That conversation is now rapidly shifting toward the risk to human health from ubiquitous petrochemical-derived plastics.
In this week’s episode of The Small Print, Nick Hughes is joined by Pierre Paslier, who worked as a plastics packaging engineer before co-founding the Earthshot prize winning start-up Notpla, which makes packaging out of seaweed. They discuss the health risks from microplastic exposure, why it’s proving so difficult to curb plastic production, and what the path to a plastic-free society and foodservice sector might look like.
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Further reading
Efforts to curb plastic pollution were left in tatters after talks on a global plastics treaty collapsed without agreement
Plastics Package: Water pollution and watered down targets
Reports of dirty tricks to clean up ‘natural’ water expose far-reaching problems, while a drinks giant scales back its packaging commitments
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