Your first link is about micro plastics, and they even say not all brands have them. So if a product is made of plastic and doesn’t always contain micro plastics (which are found in the air and water and soil and foods), then…polymers might not actually be plastics sometimes. Or in gum, many times.
Random person who took a material science course in college here, polymers like polyethylene are constructed from their component monomers in chemical reactions. Not all monomers end up in a polymer chain, and some remain trapped in the material. These are what leeches out of the plastic over time. Better manufacturing processes have cut down a lot on this over time but it’s not something that can be eliminated entirely. These are also referred to as micro plastics sometimes, and sometimes not–it depends on the knowledge of the person speaking and whether or not it suits their point. Anyways, there’s your not so fun fact for the day.
Your first link is about micro plastics, and they even say not all brands have them. So if a product is made of plastic and doesn’t always contain micro plastics (which are found in the air and water and soil and foods), then…polymers might not actually be plastics sometimes. Or in gum, many times.
Random person who took a material science course in college here, polymers like polyethylene are constructed from their component monomers in chemical reactions. Not all monomers end up in a polymer chain, and some remain trapped in the material. These are what leeches out of the plastic over time. Better manufacturing processes have cut down a lot on this over time but it’s not something that can be eliminated entirely. These are also referred to as micro plastics sometimes, and sometimes not–it depends on the knowledge of the person speaking and whether or not it suits their point. Anyways, there’s your not so fun fact for the day.