Analysis of Microplastics in Drinking Water

Abstract

At the start of this year (2026) California banned single-use plastic bags and replaced them with paper ones. Personally, I am not a big fan of this decision-paper bags tear, handles break, and in a survey I believe most Californians would prefer plastic bags over paper. Despite California being an environmentally friendly state, this shows how much we as individuals and as a society depend on plastic and often choose convenience over the common sense of how harmful it is to the environment. This study demonstrates that microplastics can be present in our drinking water and are undetectable without microscopic analysis. Vacuum filtration using cellulose nitrate filter papers is an effective method for isolating microplastics for observation. Future work will include quantitative comparison between bottled water, filtered water, and tap water to evaluate the effectiveness of household filtration systems in reducing microplastics.

Results

Key Terms: Water, Microplastics, Health