A person consumes microplastics size of a credit card weekly: Nutritionist

A person consumes five grams of microplastic a week, which is the size of a credit card, a Nutritionist said.

Addressing the media, Nutritionist Roshan Dela Bandara said that research conducted by Newcastle University in Australia found that microplastics are mixing with our food, drinking water and the air we breathe.

"The research results revealed that a person consumes five grams of microplastics a week, which is the size of a credit card. Accordingly, 20 grams of microplastics are consumed in a month and 250 grams per year," the Nutritionist said.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA) Secretary, Dr. Sajith Edirisinghe, claimed that several studies have pointed out that the main cause of getting microplastic into our bodies was from nylon cloth and nylon fishing nets.

Most of the microplastic is inserted into our body through the air we breathe, he said.

After consuming more microplastic, the results can be cancer, he said.

Therefore, the doctors requested people not destroy the plastic items by themselves but to hand them over to the centres where they can be recycled. It is also recommended not to burn plastic items, as they emit a large number of poisonous chemicals and gases.