https://www.rfi.fr/en/international-news/20250620-more-microplastics-in-glass-bottles-than-plastic-study

noplasticinmysea.org

Soutenez l'appel pour un accès à l'eau potable et stoppez l'expansion des bouteilles plastiques. Engagez-vous pour réduire la pollution et protéger nos ressources !

Need to be aware of this:

www.anses.fr

Les boissons contenues dans des bouteilles en verre renferment plus de particules de microplastiques que celles qui le sont dans des bouteilles en plastique, des briques ou des canettes. C’est étonnamment ce que révèle une étude menée par l’unité à Boulogne-sur-Mer du Laboratoire de sécurité des aliments de l’Anses. L’hypothèse investiguée par les scientifiques est que ces particules de plastiques viennent des peintures des capsules des bouteilles. Ces résultats permettent d’identifier une source de présence de microplastiques dans les boissons contre laquelle les industriels peuvent facilement prendre des mesures.

Email exchanges about above:

A bit random:

20 Jun 25 1623

Thanks for sharing Muriel, I will check this with our scientific contacts. 

And I agree this will be popping up in the media the next decade and be intensively used for lobbying, like 'the plastic bag is the best bag for the environment studies’. 

Met hartelijke groet | Kind regards,

Jeroen Dagevos 

Head of Programs

Hello all,

This study from a public and serious organisation is quite worrying on reuse and will be used by lobbys.

There are solutions (changing caps or painting) but it will certainly harm.

Best regards

Muriel

https://www.anses.fr/fr/content/boissons-bouteilles-en-verre-contiennent-plus-de-microplastiques-autres-contenants

Dear Muriel and all,

Thank you for sharing your observations on microplastics found in glass-bottled beverages. As a microplastic researcher I wanted to contribute a brief comment based on prior work and reflections in this area. In a previous internal investigation I conducted on bottled water and mineral waters stored in glass containers, I observed that a considerable proportion of microplastic particles originated from the polymer-based inks and paints applied to the caps. These coatings, often used for branding or marketing purposes, can become a significant contamination source—especially under mechanical or thermal stress. This highlights a key distinction: while the microplastic release from plastic bottles is primarily due to the polymeric nature of the bottle itself, glass containers could be a far more inert alternative if unnecessary synthetic decorative elements—particularly colorful or multilayered cap coatings—were reconsidered or avoided.

Rather than fostering alarm, this could present a valuable opportunity to proactively engage with the packaging industry. A call to reduce or eliminate non-essential polymer-based paints and coatings—especially those used purely for marketing—could be a scientifically grounded and practical step toward reducing microplastic exposure at the source.

I hope these thoughts provide a constructive perspective on the matter.

Best

Prof. Dr. Sedat Gündoğdu

Çukurova University

Microplastic Research Group

Hello, 

The media coverage in France is huge and it will certainly go further.

Let’s be prepared to react…

We have in France a big Reuse experiment beginning on 4 regions covering 16 millions people. This study is a very bad signal…

Best regards

Muriel 

https://www.rfi.fr/en/international-news/20250620-more-microplastics-in-glass-bottles-than-plastic-study

Filtered Bottled Water Scandal: European Commission Strictly Criticizes French Authorities, Foodwatch Calls for Electroshock to Protect Consumers

https://www.foodwatch.org/fr/communiques-de-presse/2024/scandale-des-eaux-en-bouteilles-filtrees-la-commission-europeenne-critique-severement-les-autorites-francaises-foodwatch-demande-un-electrochoc-pour-proteger-les-consommateurs

Further reference links on their way!