Researchers tested 259 bottles of 11 popular bottled water brands for the presence of microscopic plastic. On average, the bottled water contained 325 pieces of microplastic per liter, nearly twice what was found in tap water.

Story at-a-glance:

Tests reveal bottled water contains nearly twice as many microplastic particles per liter as tap water. The contamination was thought to originate from the manufacturing process of the bottles and caps.

Researchers tested 259 bottles of 11 popular bottled water brands for the presence of microscopic plastic. On average, the bottled water tested contained 325 pieces of microplastic per liter.

Only 17 of 259 bottles were found to be free of microplastic particles, and none of the brands tested consistently free of plastic contaminants. The worst offender was Nestlé Pure Life, the most contaminated sample of which contained 10,390 particles per liter.

In response to these findings, the World Health Organization vowed to launch a safety review to assess the potential short- and long-term health risks of consuming microplastic in water.

A report by the U.K. Government Office for Science warned that plastic debris littering the world’s oceans — 70% of which does not biodegrade — is likely to triple by 2025 unless radical steps are taken to curb pollution.

Plastic has become an incredibly harmful convenience, now threatening environmental and human health alike, and in more ways than one.

There’s the issue of bulk plastics in our landfills, where it will remain indefinitely since most plastic does not biodegrade, and microplastics — microscopic pieces of degraded plastic — which now choke waterways across the globe and contaminate drinking water and sea life.

On top of that, there are the chemicals used in the production of plastic, many of which have hormone-mimicking activity, thereby threatening animal and human health, including reproductive health. Disturbingly, recent tests reveal most bottled water contains microplastic pollution — contamination thought to originate from the manufacturing process of the bottles and caps.