Jul 29, 2025
Story at-a-glance
- A French government study found that glass bottles contain five to 50 times more microplastics than plastic bottles, mostly from the painted caps that seal them
- Researchers discovered that the microscopic plastic fragments in glass-packaged drinks matched the chemical makeup of the bottle cap paint, not the glass itself
- When bottle caps were pre-cleaned with filtered air and ethanol, microplastic levels dropped by over 60% — showing this problem is avoidable with simple changes
- Many people now consume roughly 5 grams of plastic per week — the weight of a credit card — from foods, drinking water, and even from breathing polluted air
- Microplastics accumulate in your organs, especially the brain, where they trigger inflammation, obstruct blood flow, and accelerate cognitive decline and neurodegeneration