Simple ways to get plastic off your plate

THE amount of plastic we ingest is alarming. In a new study, researchers at the University of Portsmouth tested two roast dinners — one made with ingredients that came mainly wrapped in plastic, and another that was largely free of plastic packaging.

There were seven times more microplastics in the first meal — the equivalent of eating two plastic bags in a year, if every meal was like this.

Does this matter? A friend from medical school, Dr Desiree Silva, a professor of paediatrics at the University of Western Australia, is looking at this, specifically to see if there’s a link between levels of microplastics in a baby’s blood, urine and poo and the development of allergies, obesity and even mental health problems.

She hopes to make it part of a long-running study, The ORIGINS Project, involving more than 8,000 families. In the meantime, to reduce my own plastic footprint, I avoid water in plastic bottles and use string bags for fruit and veg in the supermarket. I also transfer food from plastic containers to ceramic bowls before microwaving.

Will this be good for me, as well as the planet? Only time will tell.