PETpla.net Insider 04 / 2021

OUTER PLANET 62 PETplanet Insider Vol. 22 No. 04/21 www.petpla.net OUTER PLANET Water bottle lid prevents consumption of microplastics Keeping microplastics at bay The consumption of microplastics is suspected of having a negative impact on human health. Hence, Korean start-up Real Water has come up with a solution to filter out microplastics from bottled water to reduce synthetic polymer contamination. A study done by the State Univer- sity of New York in 2018 found that tiny pieces of plastics exist in more than 90% of the samples collected from the world’s most popular bottled water brands. Real Water’s simple yet unique design of a water bottle cap that fits on almost all plastic bottles is claimed to have the potential to save millions of people from health issues that may arise from this contamina- tion. To conduct the study, 259 bot- tles of packaged drinking water of 11 different brands were collected as samples from nine countries; China, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Leba- non, Kenya, Thailand, and the U.S. After the results of the study were made public, the World Health Organi- sation (WHO) sought a review of the potential risks arising from plastic particles in drinking water. The study revealed that, on average, a person can consume 2,000 microplastics amounting to around 5 g of plastic in a week. Real Water’s uniquely designed lid is capable of filtering up to 0.005mm of fine plastic particles and can save people from consuming microplastics, which some voices consider a next big health hazard. The start-up’s story Real Water was started by Kwon Hyeok Jae, who developed the product with the goal of helping to make drinking water safe for human consumption. Kwon and his team came out with the final product after 10 months of intense research. The team studied microscopic plastics’ size, investigated available filters in the market, studied the characteris- tics, pore sizes, and principles of each filter before finally introducing the Real Water filter cap. “It took us more than 10 months to develop the product. I kept repeat- ing the experiments by changing the shape and size of the filter frame. I designed the prototype after numer- ous trial and error, using a 3D printer. Eventually, I had to find a factory to mass produce the product,” said Kwon Hyeok Jae. Real Water’s filter cap can filter around 120 l of water. If, on average, a person drinks two litres of water a day, the cap will last for two months. How- ever, it should be cleaned by rinsing it under running water to achieve better life of the product and stored in a dry place when not in use. The company will also provide a case for storing the filter. The company released its first product in June 2020 and received good reviews. Real Water also launched its crowdfunding in the same month for mass production and received funding. Safety certificates & overseas expansion Real Water’s product has received the ‘Hazardous Substances Non- Detection Certification’ after undergo- ing the Korea Testing and Research Institute’s test. Also, it has been con- firmed as ‘Bisphenol A non-detection’ as a result of the Korea Institute of Construction Living Environment Test and received ‘BPA Free’ certification. After its successful launch facili- tated by a crowdfunding drive, Real Water got several customer inquiries from the overseas market as well. The start-up is currently preparing to export its unique bottle cap filters to Japan and Taiwan. “Our company’s motto is ‘Make water that can be drunk with real peace of mind.’ In addition, the issue of microplastics in bottled water is more serious over- seas than in Korea. Some brands abroad have up to 10,000 microplas- tics per litre of water. As the demand is high, we are preparing to enter the overseas market in earnest,” said Kwon Hyeok Jae. www.realwater.modoo.at Real Water bottle cap What are microplastics? As a category, microplastics encompass a wide range of materi- als composed of different sub- stances, with different densities, chemical compositions, shapes and sizes. There is no scientifically- agreed definition of microplas- tics, although they are frequently defined as plastic particles <5mm in length. A subset of microplastics <1 μ m in length are often referred to as nanoplastics. www.who.int