A recent study conducted by the Environment and Social Development Organisation (ESDO) between July 2025 and June 2026 detected microplastics in toothpaste samples from Bangladesh, India, Thailand, and Vietnam. The number of microplastic particles ranged from 20 to 320 per 100 grams of toothpaste, with microplastics detected in 22 of the 25 products tested. The samples were purchased from retail outlets and included products commonly used in Bangladeshi households. Despite these findings, Bangladesh currently has no specific legislation prohibiting the use of plastic microbeads in personal care products.
Microplastics are plastic particles smaller than five millimetres. They may originate from the breakdown of larger plastic items, raw materials used in plastic manufacturing, or microbeads. Microbeads are primary microplastics intentionally added to personal care products, including toothpaste, cosmetics, shaving creams, shampoos, and skin exfoliants. Polyethylene is commonly used to manufacture microbeads because it is inexpensive and readily available compared with natural alternatives such as oatmeal, apricot kernels, and walnut shells.The presence of these widely used microbeads has become a major concern all over the world as its small size gives this easy escape to the city's wastewater treatment systems, releasing them into the aquatic environment. To date, scientists find it to be major challenge to control the distribution of microplastics into our water system. As these are non-biodegradable materials, while released into the waterbodies, it bioaccumulates (gradual buildup of harmful chemicals inside living organisms over time) and biomagnifies (toxic substances are getting more concentrated in living organisms as they move up the food chain) through food web and eventually ends up in human bodies. In December 2015, US president Barack Obama had signed the federal Microbead-Free waters Act into Law, which bans microbeads in cosmetics and personal care products.
Several studies in recent years have reported the toxicity of microplastics in aquatic organisms, including neurotoxic effects on central and nervous systems, growth inhibition, reduced life span, disruption of cell organelleand effects on reproduction. Other than these internal issues, impacts of microplastics can be also seen through almost every day news reports, where birds and animals are getting entangled, choked or strangulated. Given that studies with microplastics are still in very early stage, scientists are yet to learn the toxic effects of plastics in different organisms specific to each environment. In humans, a recent study published in between 2020 to 2024, microplastics have been found to be accumulated in lungs, cardiovascular system, digestive system, reproductive system and urinary tracts. In addition, microplastics are also reported in breastmilk, sputum, urine and stool, while the scientists suggest the primary routes of entry are likely to be atmospheric ingestion and inhalation.
Plastics have become an integral part of modern life since the early nineteenth century, with global production now reaching approximately 400-450 million metric tonnes annually. However, detecting microplastics remains time-consuming and technically challenging, particularly because researchers must minimise background contamination. Other major challenges include sample complexity, the lack of standardised protocols, difficulties in identifying and counting particles, lengthy processing times, and limited access to advanced microscopy and analytical equipment. As methods vary considerably among studies worldwide, scientists are continuing to develop consistent quality-control standards to minimise false results and improve the accuracy, reliability, and comparability of microplastic data. A recent paper from "Trends in Environmental Analytical Chemistry" has suggested to use laboratory blanks to reduce unwanted variations and to determine the extent of cross contamination while detecting microplastics in a sample. Recent guidelines emphasise on particle- based identification of microplastics using micro-FTIR (Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy) and Raman spectroscopy (a non-destructive chemical analysis method based on inelastic light scattering) to be considered for publication in high impact journals, along with strict contamination control. These spectroscopiesare used to identify chemical materials through light absorption, identifying the exact type of plastic. Without spectroscopic data, a particle is not considered microplastic as visual inspection is highly unreliable, with error rate ranging from 20-70 per cent, and other organic and non-plastic items may mimic plastic samples.
Use of plastic particles in Bangladesh had been a concern for years, reminding us of the ban in use of plastic bags in January 2002. However, no strict regulation and cost of biodegradable materials have pushed back our effort to reduce plastics in the environment. Not only plastic bags, with the growing population demands and increased consumerisation, plastics have become integral part of society with no limits or awareness of disposal techniques. According to the World bank, in December 2021, Bangladesh was considered one of the top countries in the world in terms of plastic pollution, where annual per capita consumption in Dhaka alone was 22.25kg. Single use plastics (bottles, packaging, food containers, straws, bottles) are the main sources of plastic wastes (estimates 1.5 million tons per year), which are very common sights in every public place for Bangladeshi residents. These are clogging up our drainage systems, rivers, canals, soil and ocean, resulting in exacerbating flooding. These single use plastics are usually composed of polypropylene andpolyethylene (also in microbeads), which require several centuries to decompose naturally.As peoplelack the awareness regarding plastic consumption and proper disposal of wastes, the concern regarding microplastic should not be limited to the microbeads found in personal care products.
Visible signs of plastic pollution are widespread across Bangladesh, particularly throughout its waterways, making it easy to imagine the substantial quantities of microplastics entering our systems each year. Although research into microplastics and their effects on organisms is still developing, action should not be delayed until the damage becomes irreversible. The risks extend beyond human health to the broader environment and the organisms that depend on it. Continued exposure to and bioaccumulation of these harmful particles through multiple pathways may pose an increasingly serious threat to the future of this densely populated country.
Dr. Urmi Nishat Nini, Environmental Toxicologist, Graduate Research Teaching Fellow in School of LES at Deakin University, Australia.
