Microplastics are plastic particles smaller than five millimetres. They come from the fragmentation of plastic waste, from tyre and synthetic textile wear, or are manufactured at that size directly for certain industrial uses.
How they get into water
Through urban run-off, wastewater discharges, atmospheric deposition, and sometimes from the materials in contact with the water themselves. They are detected in mains water and bottled water alike.
What is known about the risks
The World Health Organization considers that the available data do not yet support a confirmed health risk at the exposure levels observed, while stressing that knowledge remains limited. Work continues, particularly on the finest particles and on the additives they carry.
Effective treatments
- Fine filtration: a 1 µm cartridge already retains a large proportion of the particles.
- Ultrafiltration: a considerably lower cut-off threshold, highly effective on this fraction.
- Reverse osmosis: the most complete barrier, which also retains dissolved salts.
A common-sense note
Switching to bottled water to avoid microplastics is not an answer: several studies measure comparable, and sometimes higher, concentrations in it. Filtering at the point of use remains the more coherent approach.