Microplastics have been found in nearly every part of the human body: our bloodstream, lungs, digestive system, reproductive organs and even the brain. Everywhere scientists look, they find them. While the long-term health implications are still emerging, one reality is becoming impossible to ignore: we are living in a world saturated with plastic, and our bodies are bearing the consequences.

The science is still catching up. Researchers don’t yet have definitive answers about exactly how these particles affect human health. However, early evidence from cell and animal studies is concerning - pointing to inflammation, oxidative stress and hormonal disruption. What we do know is that the biggest risks are unlikely to come from the plastic polymers themselves, but from the cocktail of chemical additives used to make plastics harder, softer, clearer, stronger or more heat-resistant. Those additives - often invisible to consumers and unlisted on products - can leach into our food, water and air, especially when plastics are heated. Some are associated with endocrine disruption, a pathway linked to cancers, fertility issues and developmental effects. Again, more research is needed, but the signals are loud enough to warrant a precautionary approach. This isn’t just a household problem. It’s a systemic one.

Recycling isn’t solving the crisis

Despite decades of messaging, plastic recycling has not kept pace with global production. The economics don’t work, the systems are inconsistent, and the vast majority of plastic ever produced has ended up in landfills, waterways or ecosystems, where it breaks down into microplastics that disperse across the planet and ultimately into our bodies.
Meanwhile, plastic production continues to surge. More than US$180 billion has been invested in new plastic manufacturing capacity over the last decade alone. Without intervention, the volume of plastic in the world, and inside us, will only continue to grow.

We need packaging systems that prevent the problem, not perpetuate it

At Recorp, the future of packaging is about redesigning product systems so materials stay in circulation and out of the environment altogether.
The current model of single-use packaging, built on the assumption that waste is an acceptable by-product, has reached its limits. Microplastics in human organs make that painfully clear. But the Auckland University research makes one thing clear: we cannot “individual-choice” our way out of a global materials crisis. True progress requires upstream change. Reduction, replacement and redesign. This is where business leadership becomes critical.

This is the moment for change

At Recorp, we work with organisations ready to move beyond incremental change and toward packaging systems that eliminate plastic waste by design. The science is showing us where the current path leads. The market is signalling that consumers and regulators are shifting. The opportunity is to build packaging ecosystems that are healthier for people, products and the planet. And one of the most immediate, scalable solutions is already in our hands: circular aluminium packaging. Aluminium is infinitely recyclable, with no loss of quality. It’s one of the few materials that can be remade over and over again using a fraction of the energy required for new production. When brands choose aluminium, they’re choosing a system designed for recovery, not leakage - a system with real recycling rates, real infrastructure, and real circularity.
In a world where microplastics are infiltrating our bodies and ecosystems, moving products into aluminium formats is one of the simplest and most impactful steps we can take to reduce reliance on plastic.

Plastics are everywhere. But so too is our capacity to choose something better, now. So, choose the can. Choose circularity. Choose a future without plastic waste. It’s that simple.

Source: University of Auckland - Microplastics in your body - are they harmful? (2024)