Boiling Water Reduces Microplastics: What Does It Mean For Coca-Cola, PepsiCo's Bottled Water Brands?

The understudied threat of microplastics has become a major source of concern for large sectors of the population.

While scientists have not yet identified the exact consequences of living around microscopic pieces of plastic, their presence has been found in everything from drinking water to human tissue to the air we breathe.

According to a new study, an everyday solution could help get rid of as much as 90% of microplastics in tap water by simply boiling and filtering it.

Microplastics: An Invisible Threat

The term “microplastics” refers to small plastic fragments smaller than 5mm, found as contaminants in urban and natural environments. 

They come from multiple sources including plastics already produced in those sizes, like synthetic fibers of clothing or microbeads included in cosmetic products, or they can appear as a result of the degradation of larger plastic products, such as single-use plastic containers like soda bottles and plastic bags.

Nanoplastics, the tiniest fragments, measure as small as one millionth of a meter.

Public concern about microplastics has grown in recent years after several studies have found them in almost every inch of the world around us.

In 2022, a study from the Netherlands detected microplastics in the blood of 80% of sampled individuals from the general population, and another study from the same year discovered microplastics in living heart tissue.

A few months ago, a study from Shandong University in China found them in the clouds above East China.

Microplastics are especially present in drinking water. A 2018 study found them in 93% of bottled water from nine different countries, and a recent review highlighted their detection in tap water from a wide range of countries, including the U.S., Germany, Mexico, France, China, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and Norway.

Also read: The End Of The Plastic Era? World Delegates Forge Ahead With Draft Plastics Treaty To Shape A Greener World

Are Microplastics Harmful?

While the health effects of microplastics exposure are still being researched, several studies have raised red flags about the ubiquitous presence of these particles in daily life. Their health consequences can vary along different variables, which include the type of plastic, the size of the particles, whether they were inhaled, ingested or touched and the length of exposure.

Microplastics have been linked to negative health impacts, including cellular damage and problems within the gastrointestinal and respiratory systems.

According to a WHO report, microplastics can be harmful to the body not only by themselves, but they can also serve as "vectors of pathogens," providing ways for microbes to enter the organism. They can also worsen symptoms of pre-existing conditions like asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

While the overall consensus among scientists is that more research is needed to better understand the health impact of microplastics, it's advised to avoid prolonged exposure to foreign particles as there is no precedent in history to understand what happens to a human body that undergoes daily exposure to small plastic particles from the time of birth.

Is Boiling Drinking Water The Solution?

A study published this week in the Environmental Science & Technology journal found that boiling drinking water can reduce at least 80% of polystyrene, polyethylene, and polypropylene, the most commonly-found types of nano/microplastics.

The team of researchers, from Guangzhou Medical University and Jinan University in China, set out to find ways in which regular people could reduce their daily exposure to microplastics using household methods.

The method was more effective for certain types of tap water. Water supplies from around the globe vary in their chemical composition. In waters that are rich in minerals like calcium or magnesium, the boiling process causes these minerals to trap the plastics into a solid, chalky residue that can be removed by filtering the water.

In waters that were rich in these minerals, the process helped capture up to 90% of the microplastic particles. Yet in those samples that carried fewer amounts of the minerals, only about 25% was removed.

For those wanting to try the method at home, the water should be left to cool and settle after boiling without stirring for about 10 minutes and then filtered with a regular coffee filter.

The researchers wrote in the study that boiling drinking water is a tradition in East Asian countries as it helps get rid of some chemicals and most microbes living in the water.

Stocks To Watch

• Public companies involved in the sale of bottled water include Coca-Cola Co KO, PepsiCo Inc PEP, Primo Water Corp PRMW and Ambev SA ABEV and Primo Water Corporation PRMW.
• Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Nestle SA – ADR NSRGY, MONDELEZ INTERNATIONAL INC MDLZ, Unilever plc UL, Procter & Gamble Co PG and Colgate-Palmolive Company CL were ranked among the top plastic polluters of 2022 by the Break Free From Plastic Global Brand Audit.
• Some of the largest running water providers include American Water Works AWK and Essential Utilities WTRG.
• Exxon Mobil Corp XOM, Dow Inc DOW and China Petroleum and Chemical Ord Shs H SNPMF were the top three producers of single-use plastic items in 2021 as per 2023 Plastic Waste Makers Index report.

Now read: With 363.8 Billion Pounds Of Plastic In The Ocean, Plastic Pollution Will Soon Outweigh Fish

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