When we think of plastic bottles, we think of the environmental consequences and the disaster they represent for our planet.

 

Many of us decide to rid ourselves of guilt by reusing them. We think we are doing good to the planet without thinking for a moment that we could harm ourselves.

 

Indeed, “We drink plastic” , launches the Association Agir pour l’Environnement following the results of their study analyzing the presence of plastic microparticles in bottled water , among the most sold in France among the most sold in France ( 1): Badoit, Carrefour (Source Montclar ), Cristalline, Evian (100% recycled bottle in 0.50 cl and 1 liter bottle), Perrier (blue bottle), Vittel (1 liter and Vittel Kids in 0.33 cl ), Volvic .

 

Of these 9 waters, 7 contain up to 121 plastic microparticles.

 

You should know that plastic water bottles are usually made of polyethylene terephthalate, or PET. It is a material chosen for ” its transparency, its lightness, its gas tightness and its ability to be recycled”, explains Cristina Bach Campa, doctor of water science in her thesis, defended in 2011 before the National Polytechnic Institute of Lorraine .

 

On March 15, 2018, the TF1 Info newspaper also headlined:  Bottled water contaminated with plastic particles: should we be worried? ?

 

Indeed, researchers at the University of Fredonia in the State of New York have shown that in 93% of more than 250 bottles analyzed , “tiny particles of polypropylene, nylon and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) in particular were found in the vast majority. »

We do not yet know today the extent of the risks involved in these micro particles.

However, according to a 2017 report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), smaller debris, on the order of 20 microns (0.02 millimeters), can enter the the rat’s bloodstream before settling in the kidneys and liver.

In the study, 90% of the plastic particles found in the bottled water test were between 100 and 6.5 microns – small enough, the researchers said, to pass through the gut and enter the body .

 

In fact, Jacqueline Savitz , North America manager for the NGO Oceana , which fights against ocean pollution, felt that this study provided one more reason to limit the production of plastic water bottles.

 

In addition, reused plastic bottles present another proven risk: they can turn, through their reuse, into a real nest of bacteria.

 

This is what the researchers call the risk of chemical leaching , in other words, the possibility that the chemicals from the container end up, through repeated use, dissolved in the water.

 

According to a study published in 2017, there would be ” an extremely high level of bacteria and a rapid increase in microbial growth in reusable water bottles” .

Indeed, when we drink from a bottle, we always deposit bacteria present in our mouth on the neck. A number of micro-organisms are also deposited, if only by unscrewing the cap. It should be disinfected after each use.

 

This lack of perspective on the danger posed by these plastic particles should alert us and make us all the more vigilant about the quality of the water we drink, an essential element for our health.

Sources:

 

https://www.notretemps.com/sante-bien-etre/nutrition/eaux-en-bouteille-contaminees-par-des-microparticules-de-plastique-quel-danger-pour-la-sante-55204

 

https://www.ouest-france.fr/leditiondusoir/2022-06-23/pourquoi-vous-ne-devriez-pas-reutiliser-plusieurs-fois-une-meme-bouteille-en-plastique-c843b751-d4d2-4668-821c-b222fb84714e

 

https://www.tf1info.fr/sante/eau-en-bouteille-contaminee-par-des-particules-de-plastique-evian-san-pellegrino-pellegrino-aquafina-dans-ces-proportions-quasi-nulles-le-risque-semble-inexistant-dr-expert-toxicologue-2081772.html

 

https://www.sciencesetavenir.fr/sante/l-eau-en-bouteille-deux-fois-plus-contaminee-par-des-particules-de-plastique-qu-au-robinet_122059

 

https://www.geo.fr/environnement/pourquoi-vous-ne-devriez-pas-reutiliser-une-bouteille-deau-en-plastique-plusieurs-fois-210486

 

https://www.ledauphine.com/france-monde/2018/01/18/reutiliser-sa-bouteille-d-eau-en-plastique-mauvaise-idee