The River Thames is becoming polluted with microplastics that are finding their way into oysters and other foods, a new study has found.
Around 59 per cent of the Thames foreshore was found to be tainted by minute particles of plastic in the annual Thames 21 survey of the tidal river from Teddington to the estuary.
Some 35,000 particles were identified in samples, adding to what the group called “a global microplastics crisis”.
The findings coincide with MPs calling for a ban on microbeads used in facial scrubs, toothpastes and other beauty products.
Mary Creagh, chair of the Commons Environmental Audit Committee, said the evidence of plastic pollution in the Thames was “deeply worrying”.
“Pieces of plastic will be carried downstream and will be eaten by oysters in the Thames estuary,” she said.
“If you eat six oysters, you’ve probably consumed 50 particles of microplastics, which have been washed down the sinks of homes in London and carried downstream.”
Cosmetic microbeads make up less than 4 percent of microplastics entering oceans. Particles found in the Thames included broken down food and drink containers. Other sources of the problem include synthetic fibres from clothing.
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