Takeaway cups release microplastics into your coffee
news.uq.edu.au
Single-use paper cups used for takeaway coffee and other beverages release millions of microplastic particles when exposed to hot liquid, University of Queensland researchers have found.
  • inclementimmigrant@lemmy.worldEnglish
    7·
    15 小时前

    Not surprising since we already have studies that show microplastics get released in things like plastic containers when used in the microwave that’s caused due to heat but still good to know and be informed even if I don’t use them outside of very occasionally.

  • yuki_gassen@lemmy.mlEnglish
    8·
    18 小时前

    So do microplastics harm our bodies? I can’t think it’ll help, just wanna know the severity to be worried lol

  • EntheoNaut@lemmy.mlEnglish
    52·
    15 小时前

    This is clearly one of those: no fucking shit situations

    Who the fuck sips hot beverages literally from plastic is not aware or considering the consequences.

    Tf is wrong with most people.

  • Takashiro@lemmy.todayEnglish
    45·
    1 天前

    It is already annoying, let’s just get this over and simply say if it is made of plastic, even in small part , it will release micro plastics .

    Because every other day is another “revelation” of something obvious .

  • heartSagan5@lemmy.zipEnglish
    111·
    1 天前

    Just add it to road tires sloughing it by driving… It’s the new leaded disaster. Thanks oil lobbies.

    • CultLeader4Hire@lemmy.worldEnglish
      5·
      1 天前

      Lead is still a disaster though. Fazing lead pipes out is great but with out subsidies for remediation old lead pipes never get removed. Places like France didn’t even faze our lead pipes until 1995

      • frongt@lemmy.zipEnglish
        71·
        1 天前

        Lead pipes are safe while they’re stable. If they get moved or cut or anything, or acid removes the protective layer, then they can become unsafe. Kind of like asbestos.

        Lead in avgas, on the other hand, is definitely unsafe.

  • bcgm3@lemmy.worldEnglish
    10·
    1 天前

    That’s okay, all the individual ingredients are already riddled with micro-plastics, and so are we

    • frongt@lemmy.zipEnglish
      71·
      1 天前

      I remember one study about microplastics gave up because either they couldn’t find an uncontaminated control, or their measuring equipment was contaminating it. I’m not sure if they could tell which one it was.

  • finallymadeanaccount@lemmy.worldEnglish
    121·
    2 天前

    Man, these university researchers just love telling us all the ways we’re gonna contract some horrible condition, or disease, or death.

    On the other hand, there are probably more carcinogens in city air than microplastic.

    • TubularTittyFrog@lemmy.worldEnglish
      45·
      2 天前

      they don’t love telling you that.

      the media loves telling you that, and loves making rich white peopel panic and go out and buy all new cups/cookware/appliances based on the new latest scary study.

      and i have relatives who do this. every 5 years they re-buy everything in their kitchen based on whatever is the latest scare trend is. non-stick, plastics, pfas, bpa, etc. it’s like clockowrk, every 5 years there is a new boogeyman think that you have to go buy all new pots and pants and dishware to ‘avoid’. or water bottles.

      i bet in 5 years we’re going to start hearing how eating of out steel cookware/cups is bad for you and we all have to go back to plastic because that’s safer.

    • BeMoreCareful@lemmy.worldEnglish
      4·
      1 天前

      I’d have to think you’re right about this. Plastic is so versatile, I’ll bet it’s all over any sort of food processing.

      • Buddahriffic@lemmy.worldEnglish
        3·
        1 天前

        Yeah, I’ve been assuming that plastic isn’t something I want anywhere near my food but can only really control plastic contact with my food inside my place. Most comes packaged in plastic. I think glass jars and produce/things produced in the store are the only things that don’t automatically come in contact with plastic, though in practice it’s only the glass jars that continue to avoid it because the stores provide plastic packaging for produce and their other stuff like meat/deli cuts or baked goods.

        And I’d be surprised if the contents inside the glass jars aren’t typically stored in plastic between the farm and the jarring plant, though at least there the bins are likely large enough that contact is minimal for anything not at the edges.

        • TrackinDaKraken@lemmy.worldEnglish
          71·
          1 天前

          You’re right. But, it’s less about the storage, and more about the processing. The machines used to process food all have plastic parts, bearing surfaces that wear down.

          Studies published in Food Chemistry found microplastics in every commercial olive oil they tested — so olive oil does have microplastics, and the plastic comes from the extraction and bottling chain, not the olives. A 2024 study of olive and vegetable oils from Italy and Spain measured a mean of about 1,140 particles per liter, mostly fragments under 100 microns and dominated by polyethylene and polypropylene — and found no significant difference between oils bottled in glass and in plastic.

          • pahlimur@lemmy.worldEnglish
            31·
            1 天前

            At least PE and PP are relatively harmless. I think the narrative than any microplastic is bad covers up the evil that was polluting our world with PFAS.

        • frongt@lemmy.zipEnglish
          31·
          1 天前

          One study found that stuff in glass jars actually had more microplastics than stuff in plastic bottles, from the paint on the lid.

    • Malica@lemmy.zipEnglish
      4·
      2 天前

      I do actually, but by the time I’ve transferred it, the damage is done. Baristas have told me they have to put it in disposable cup rather than using mine.

      • modem_down@thebrainbin.org
        10·
        1 天前

        Boycott those stores.

        Decent coffee shops offer a discount if you bring a reusable mug, because it saves them a disposable one.

        • frongt@lemmy.zipEnglish
          21·
          1 天前

          A disposable coffee cup costs cents. They throw out far more than that in unsold food at the end of the day. It’s not really about the cost of the cup.

          • modem_down@thebrainbin.org
            1·
            16 小时前

            They throw out far more than that in unsold food at the end of the day.

            Again, if the store is wasting food, boycott it (or persuade it to stop doing so).

            Decent coffee shops partner with local homeless shelters, or food apps / messageboards (Olio, Too Good To Go, …), to find takers for their leftovers.

            It’s not really about the cost of the cup.

            Indeed, which is why I did not say that it was “really about the cost of the cup”. The latter is, as you correctly imply, only one factor.

  • Tiral@lemmy.worldEnglish
    95·
    1 天前

    I love how people drink alcohol which is litttally a form of poison, smoke or vape heavy metals, and eat the most processed shit food made. But micro plastics is where they want to draw the line.