Do we eat a credit card's worth of microplastic each week?
We look at the calculations behind the widely reported statistic that we eat over five grams of microplastics each week
The claim we all swallow 5.5 grams of microplastic each week – the same as the weight of a credit card – has been repeated by charities, newspapers and the World Economic Forum.
But when you understand how this number was calculated, and the range of possible answers for the amount of plastic you eat, you might not want to repeat it yourself.
Professor Jamie Woodward from the University of Manchester explains what’s what.
Presenter: Kate Lamble
Producer: Beth Ashmead Latham
Researcher: Ajai Singh
Series producer: Tom Colls
Production co-ordinator: Katie Morrison
Sound mix: Giles Aspen
Editor: Richard Vadon
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Broadcasts
- Sat 24 Aug 202404:50GMTBBC World Service except East and Southern Africa, Europe and the Middle East & West and Central Africa
- Sat 24 Aug 202410:50GMTBBC World Service East and Southern Africa & Europe and the Middle East only
- Sat 24 Aug 202415:50GMTBBC World Service News Internet
- Sun 25 Aug 202408:50GMTBBC World Service West and Central Africa
- Sun 25 Aug 202410:50GMTBBC World Service except East and Southern Africa, Europe and the Middle East & West and Central Africa
- Sun 25 Aug 202422:50GMTBBC World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
- Sun 25 Aug 202423:50GMTBBC World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa
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