Microplastics

A new policy report published  by Plastic Soup Foundation, in collaboration with Green Impact, warns that microplastics and nanoplastics constitute an escalating public health crisis, with peer-reviewed evidence now confirming their presence in human blood, breast milk, lungs, brain tissue, placenta, and children’s urine.

Micro and nanoplastics

Micro and nanoplastics act as vectors for toxic substances — including endocrine disruptors, heavy metals, persistent organic pollutants, and antibiotic resistance genes — entering the body through ingestion, inhalation, and dermal contact. Documented effects range from inflammation and oxidative stress to neurotoxicity, reproductive harm, developmental disorders, and carcinogenicity. Children, pregnant women, and frontline communities face disproportionate risk.

Leading scientists cited in the report describe the scale of the threat in stark terms. Professor Shanna Swan (Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai) states that plastics in daily life are “threatening our survival as a species,” pointing to a sharp acceleration in the decline of sperm counts since 2000. Professor Thais Mauad (University of São Paulo), whose team was first to demonstrate microplastics reaching the human brain, calls the finding “very disturbing” given the brain’s role as the body’s most protected organ. Professor Lukas Kenner (Medical University of Vienna) warns that microplastics can cross the placental barrier, with unborn children absorbing the highest particle loads — raising concerns over early-onset cancer risk.

The report is published under the European Forum on Microplastics and Health (2025–2029), an informal discussion forum bridging policy with science, established by the two organisations to advance science-based solutions to the health impacts of microplastics, in line with the Global Plastic Treaty process.

The report is published under the European Forum on Microplastics and Health (2025–2029), an informal discussion forum bridging policy with science, established by the two organisations to advance science-based solutions to the health impacts of microplastics, in line with the Global Plastic Treaty process.

The organisations call on EU policymakers to:

● Embed microplastic prevention in the forthcoming Circular Economy Act, including reformed Extended Producer Responsibility schemes covering a product’s full lifecycle, not just its end-of-life;

● Ensure the Chemicals Industry Action Plan includes fiscal incentives to accelerate substitution of hazardous, persistent polymers;

● Adopt binding microfibre-shedding standards for textiles under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation by 2027;

● Treat microplastics as a priority pollutant under the Water Resilience Strategy and the revision of the Water Framework Directive;

● Secure a legally binding mandate on microplastics in the Global Plastic Treaty negotiations;

● Scale up research funding for cross-disciplinary health-environment microplastics research under the post-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework.

READ the REPORT and the POLICY BRIEFING