Malaysians are eating too much microplastics

Microplastics are plastic waste particles smaller than 5mm that pollute the world's oceans, where they are ingested by marine life that are in turn consumed by humans. — © 2023 The New York Times Company

EVERYONE should know this damning statistic by now: Malaysia is ranked the highest among 109 countries for consuming microplastics, which are plastic pieces smaller than 5mm. Malaysia is also among the top 10 countries whose population inhales the most microplastic particles – at an estimated 494,000 particles a day per person.

According to a study published in June in the Environmental Science & Technology journal, each Malaysian swallows an average of 502.3mg of microplastics daily.