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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 鈥� the same as the weight of a credit card 鈥� 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鈥檚 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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9 minutes

Last on

Sun 25 Aug 2024 23:50GMT
主播大秀 World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa

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  • Sat 24 Aug 2024 04:50GMT
    主播大秀 World Service except East and Southern Africa, Europe and the Middle East & West and Central Africa
  • Sat 24 Aug 2024 10:50GMT
    主播大秀 World Service East and Southern Africa & Europe and the Middle East only
  • Sat 24 Aug 2024 15:50GMT
    主播大秀 World Service News Internet
  • Sun 25 Aug 2024 08:50GMT
    主播大秀 World Service West and Central Africa
  • Sun 25 Aug 2024 10:50GMT
    主播大秀 World Service except East and Southern Africa, Europe and the Middle East & West and Central Africa
  • Sun 25 Aug 2024 22:50GMT
    主播大秀 World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
  • Sun 25 Aug 2024 23:50GMT
    主播大秀 World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa

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