To waste or not to waste: questioning potential health risks of micro‑ and nanoplastics with a focus on their ingestion and potential carcinogenicity

Back in the 1950s, when plastic revolutionized the market, nobody anticipated the other side of the coin, until recently. Over the last few years, several studies have highlighted massively accumulating volumes of small plastic debris and its evident hazardous environmental consequences, calling for further in-depth investigations on the effect of micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) on human health in general and on carcinogenesis in particular.