of people tested had plastic in their blood
In the first study to measure plastic in human blood, 17 of 22 healthy adults had detectable particles.
European Union
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of heart patients had microplastics in their artery plaque
Patients with plastic in their arterial plaque had 4.5 times the risk of death, heart attack or stroke over the following three years.
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kg of plastic packaging waste per person per year in the EU
Every EU resident generates about 35 kg of plastic packaging waste a year.
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of EU plastic packaging waste recycled in 2022
The EU recycles well under half of its plastic packaging. The rate rose only slightly, from 38% in 2012.
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EU Packaging Regulation applies from August 2026: all packaging recyclable by 2030
The Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) sets binding reuse targets, bans single-use plastic for small fresh produce and hotel miniatures from 2030, and…
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EU Single-Use Plastics Directive: bans, tethered caps and bottle targets
The EU’s 2019 directive banned ten single-use items, made tethered caps mandatory from 2024 and set 90% bottle collection by 2029.
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Sewage sludge fertiliser leaves farmland with microplastics for decades
A 25-year field study found sludge application raised soil microplastic levels by up to 1,445%, persisting for at least 22 years.
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EU cuts the ‘safe’ dose of bisphenol A (BPA) 20,000-fold and then bans it in food packaging
The European Food Safety Authority concluded that dietary BPA exposure exceeds the new safe level by hundreds of times in every age group.
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Heart patients with plastic in their arteries had 4.5 times the risk of death or stroke
A NEJM study found microplastics in 58% of artery plaques, and those patients suffered far more heart attacks, strokes and deaths over three years.
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Indoor air delivers about 68,000 lung-penetrating plastic particles a day
French researchers found the air in homes and cars carries far more fine microplastic than earlier estimates, roughly 100 times higher.