. However, she is yet to find wet weather gear made from natural fibres.
She buys fruit and vegetables from a farmers’ market where the produce hopefully hasn’t touched as much plastic as a plastic-wrapped cucumber from the supermarket. When she does buy food in plastic, she removes it when she gets home and places the food in a glass or stainless steel container. The next item she wants to tackle is finding a toothpaste that doesn’t come in a plastic tube.
Why all the effort?
Bell started untangling her life from plastic about two years ago. Both her parents and her grandfather had dementia. She doesn’t want her kids to have that same burden of care, and Bell is directing much of the blame at plastic and the thousands of toxic chemicals used to create it.
“I guess in a way I probably only scratched the surface,” says Bell, “but I’m making those changes slowly but surely as monetary and time allows”.
The impact of plastic, specifically microplastics, on our health is an emerging field of research. Increasing numbers of studies hint at plastic’s connection to all manner of ailments, from strokes to diminished sperm quality to bowel cancer and, yes, to rising rates of dementia. Social media influencers and media such as Netflix’s The Plastic Detox documentary series are popularising reducing our exposure to plastic.
A scene from The Plastic Detox on Netflix.
© 2026 Netflix, Inc.
However, scientists say more evidence is needed to make a definitive link between poor health and plastic. This growing connection is something of an inconvenient truth in a world that is increasingly riddled with plastic, whether it is big, small or micro and in our food, water or air.
A quick stocktake of your surroundings will likely reveal plastic you didn’t even know was plastic, says Dr Jack Auty, a senior health lecturer at the University of Canterbury.
“Now the paint is full of resin. Resin is just a soft plastic that hardens…
“The glass [windows] will be covered in a film to make it safe, and that film will be plastic.”
Your clothes: probably polyester. Your office chair: probably polyester. Your floor will likely be wood with polyurethane (plastic) or a nylon carpet (plastic) or a synthetic vinyl tile (also plastic).
What science says about plastic and our health
Plastic is everywhere. Yet, scientists are in the early stages of researching how it impacts our health, according to Sally Gaw, a professor of environmental science at the University of Canterbury.
Professor Sally Gaw.
Corey Blackburn
Studies with rats have shown a connection between microplastics and reduced sperm quality, says Gaw. Other studies suggest a negative impact on the immune system.
“There’s certainly been shown that there are effects at the cellular level in lab studies. So cell damage, cells dying, damage to DNA, which potentially could be linked with cancer – cells not working like they should.”
Microplastics are a foreign particle causing an inflammatory response, says Auty. Animal and cell studies suggest that microplastics are always present, which could lead to chronic inflammation. Strong evidence suggests chronic inflammation contributes to dementia.
In 2024, the New England Journal of Medicine published a study that found microplastics in the main heart artery greatly increased the risk of heart attacks, strokes and death. But there are questions over what contributing factors are at play, such as diet, says Auty. Studies have shown that some ultra-processed foods – a contributing factor to cardiovascular disease- such as chicken nuggets, have 30 times more microplastics than chicken breast.
Those are microplastic-producing factories, those soft toys.
Dr Jack Auty
“… we can say that that’s really good evidence, but we still need more information. But for me, I’m convinced, and I think most people are fairly convinced…”
But the news isn’t all bleak. An Australian study published last month showed a dramatic reduction in two common types of plastics for participants who ate food that never touched plastic, used plastic-free kitchenware and plastic-free personal products.
“It shows the trying works,” says Auty.
How can you reduce your plastic exposure?
It’s impossible to avoid plastic entirely, but Gaw has a few hard rules that she sticks to. She never heats food in plastic containers. She uses a wooden chopping board. Her kitchen utensils are wood or stainless steel, and she doesn’t use non-stick frying pans. Glitter is a big ‘no.’ Synthetic pillows, duvets and sheets are also a ‘no’.
Auty is more concerned about microplastics in the air we breathe. In the 1960s, household dust was 90 percent human skin cells, says Auty. Studies in Australia found that today’s dust is about 40 percent microplastics , says Auty.
One of his first acts in the house he recently moved into was to rip up the synthetic carpet. Kids wearing oodies, giant dress-like hooded jumpers often made from fluffy synthetic fibres, make him cringe. But stuffed toys get the majority of Auty’s ire.
“Those are microplastic-producing factories, those soft toys.”
Recently, St John’s paramedics treated Auty’s then-two-year-old son, who fell in love with the synthetic stuffed toy they gave him. So, he turned to a knitting Facebook group to get someone to replicate it out of cotton and wool stuffing.
Leilani Jade blogs about her health journey with plastic on Instagram.
supplied
Leilani Jade, 31, has reduced her plastic exposure over eight years. Finding plastic-free period products is a challenge. Pads and tampons can contain significant amounts of plastic, according to a 2024 report from the World Health Organisation. Period underwear is often made from synthetic materials. Jade found reusable wool pads that she bought off the maker website Etsy.
“A: It’s a lot of trash, but also B: you’re having plastic like right there. And it traps moisture, traps bacteria, and the chemicals leach into us.”
Gaw and Auty argue the problem is too complex to burden consumers with choice. Instead, tighter regulations are needed on imported consumer products. The recent fiasco of asbestos found in children’s toys sold at Kmart is one example of why parents shouldn’t have to be gatekeepers.
“… there are no limits for many chemicals that would be of concern,” says Gaw.
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