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		</div><p>A typical human may be ingesting five grams of microplastics every week – equivalent to the weight of a credit card.</p>
<p>Research suggests people take in nearly 2,000 particles every seven days through inhalation, drinking water and beer, or consuming shellfish and salt.</p>
<p>The WWF, which commissioned the study, said the Government must recognise this as a “wake-up call” and demanded “urgent action”.</p>
<p>Microplastics are defined as plastic particles smaller than 5ml and may be released into the environment as microbeads, or by the breakdown of larger materials such as bags or tyres.</p>
<p>The researchers from the University of Newcastle in Australia analysed 52 previous studies to come up with the estimate.</p>
<p>But they suggested the figure could be higher because they did not take into account other ways plastics can be consumed.</p>
<p>These include honey, fish, sugar, bread and food packaging.</p>
<p>The vast majority of microplastics swallowed came from drinking water, with shellfish coming second and beer last, according to the research.</p>
<p>WWF marine police head Alec Taylor said the report <em>“must serve as a wake-up call to the UK Government”</em>, adding: <em>“We don’t want plastic in our ocean, and we don’t want it on our plates.</em></p>
<p><em>“If we’re going to properly address the throwaway plastic pollution crisis, we need urgent action at government, business and consumer levels to tackle its root causes head on.</em>”</p>
<p>Mr Taylor called on leaders to create a global and legally-binding agreement to halt plastic pollution.</p>
<p>The long-term consequences of plastic ingestion are not yet fully understood.</p>
<p>Professor Alastair Grant, of the University of East Anglia, said he was “not concerned” about the levels of plastic consumption detailed in the study.</p>
<p><em>“I don’t think there’s evidence that eating plastic particles at these sort of levels is a significant health risk,”</em> he said.</p>
<p>Plastic production has increased rapidly. Previous research said the same weight had been produced since 2000 as since the beginning of time.</p>
<p>And it added that 79% had accumulated in landfills or had blighted nature, as of 2015.</p>
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