Some chefs have switched from plastic cutting boards to wooden alternatives. One study of plastic cutting boards found that they shed as many as dozens of grams of microplastics per person per year.
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Here's what to know about microplastics and food preparation — and what you can do if you want to purge your kitchen of the material.
Are microplastics harming humans? There's still a lot we don't know about how microplastics affect humans. While some studies have indicated that animals suffer ill health effects due to the presence of microplastics, less is known about how the fragments impact us. The Food and Drug Administration says the "overall scientific evidence does not demonstrate that levels of microplastics or nanoplastics found in foods pose a risk to human health." But some early research finds possible links between health problems and the accumulation of these particles.
Want to ditch plastic kitchen tools? If you decide you want to reduce your use of plastic in the kitchen, there's plenty you can do. But don't attempt to toss every one of your plastic items immediately, says Anne-Marie Bonneau, author of The Zero-Waste Chef.
Read on... for more tips and what making the switch looks like in a restaurant.
It's a plastic world out there.
About 460 million metric tons of the material are made each year, according to the United Nations, and some scientists are growing increasingly worried that microplastics that find their way into our bodies could be harming our health.
One way they get in? Food. And not only through food itself — though they are there — but also in the sundry tools and other items we use to prepare and store what we eat on a daily basis.
Home cooks chop into plastic cutting boards, heat up plastic containers, sauté with plastic cooking utensils, encase ingredients in plastic wrap and toss plastic detergent pods in the dishwasher — all of which are possible vectors for microplastics exposure.
"One of the most important sources of microplastics is through the food that we eat," says Tracey Woodruff, a professor at the University of California, San Francisco who studies the impact of microplastics on human health. "And it's highly likely that a lot of that comes from food contact materials."
Here's what to know about microplastics and food preparation — and what you can do if you want to purge your kitchen of the material.
Are microplastics harming humans? The science is evolving
There's still a lot we don't know about how microplastics affect humans.
The tiny particles — which range in size from roughly the width of a pencil eraser to thinner than the diameter of a strand of DNA — have been discovered in many parts of the human body, including the heart, lungs and placenta.
Plastic food containers can be replaced with glass or metal ones. Public health experts warn against heating food in plastic.
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While some studies have indicated that animals suffer ill health effects due to the presence of microplastics, less is known about how the fragments impact us. The Food and Drug Administration says the "overall scientific evidence does not demonstrate that levels of microplastics or nanoplastics found in foods pose a risk to human health." But some early research finds possible links between health problems and the accumulation of these particles.
Susanne Brander, an ecotoxicologist at Oregon State University, told NPR in December that research showing negative health effects from microplastics exposure in animals could provide clues about what's happening to people.
"If that's happening in fish and in rodents in experiments that are being peer-reviewed and published, it's probably happening in us too," Brander said. "We just haven't demonstrated it yet."
Because research shows that humans are continuing to be exposed to microplastics, UCSF's Woodruff recommends that people should try to limit their contact with the material.
"If we wait to try and put a finer point on the science, that means that we're also continually being exposed, and that could lead to more adverse health effects, some of them which we haven't even identified yet," she said.
Want to ditch plastic kitchen tools? Here's what you can do
If you decide you want to reduce your use of plastic in the kitchen, there's plenty you can do. But don't attempt to toss every one of your plastic items immediately, says Anne-Marie Bonneau, author of The Zero-Waste Chef.
"I wouldn't suggest just taking all of your stuff and pitching it. Maybe when it breaks, replace it," Bonneau says. "Don't try to do all of this at once."
Tracey Woodruff, a professor at the University of California, San Francisco who studies the impact of microplastics on human health, said it's likely that many people ingest microplastics from "food contact materials."
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Bonneau decided to "break up" with plastics in 2011 over concerns about pollution but also came to recognize the potential health benefits of avoiding the synthetic in the kitchen.
Instead of using a plastic cutting board, she uses wooden ones. One recent study called plastic cutting boards a "potentially significant source of microplastics in human food" and found that a polyethylene chopping board could shed between 7.4 and 50.7 grams of microplastics per person per year.
Bonneau stores food in glass or metal containers and saves all her jars to reuse later. Heating plastic containers can cause millions of microplastics and billions of nanoplastic particles to be released, one study found. (Microplastics have turned up in takeout food containers, plastic water bottles, paper coffee cups and more.)
Plastic wrap is nowhere to be found in Bonneau's kitchen, which has forced her to become resourceful. "A lot of recipes for bread tell you how to make the dough, and to proof it, they'll say cover the bowl with plastic wrap," she says. "Well, you can just put a plate on top of the bowl. Or the lid of a pot."
She has cotton dish towels and reusable cloth produce bags that she brings to farmers markets and grocery stores. Bonneau also uses cellulose kitchen sponges instead of the common plastic alternatives.
Home cooks can also use stainless steel or cast-iron pots and pans rather than nonstick cookware, which is often made with PFAS, a group of chemicals that have been linked to health problems in humans.
Making the switch in a restaurant
Chef Edward Lee ditched plastic at his nonprofit restaurant Shia in Washington, D.C., to test out more sustainable business practices that could be adopted by other eateries. That means using wooden cutting boards, swapping plastic deli containers for metal and glass substitutes and replacing plastic wrap with alternatives such as parchment paper, beeswax paper, muslin and cheesecloth. The restaurant uses paper takeout containers and doesn't give diners to-go utensils, since Lee says most of them are taking their food home anyway.
But not everything was so easily replaced, such as the iconic plastic restaurant squeeze bottles that Shia has sworn off. Staff members instead store sauces in separate containers and mix vinaigrettes as they're needed. "One of the by-products of getting rid of squeeze bottles is that all our vinaigrettes are fresher, because we have to make them to order," Lee said.
There are trade-offs to cutting out plastic, according to Lee. Some nonplastic alternatives are more expensive, and kitchen staff members have to be more careful when handling items like glass that could easily break if dropped.
But he said the elimination of plastics at Shia has led to a positive cultural shift among staff members, many of whom have also reduced their plastic use at home.
"Being surrounded by a lot of disposables … your attitude becomes more disposable," Lee said. "When we're surrounded by permanence, we're a little bit more focused — we're a little bit more careful."
He added: "Once you do this, you realize there's no going back."
Copyright 2025 NPR
Yusra Farzan
has been covering the Rancho Palos Verdes landslide since 2023.
Published October 29, 2026 9:30 AM
An aerial view of landslide damage at the corner of Dauntless Drive and Exultant Drive in the Seaview neighborhood of Rancho Palos Verdes.
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Land in the Portuguese Bend area of Rancho Palos Verdes is now moving more than an inch per week. That’s an increase since August, but it is still moving much less than it was last year at this time.
How we got here: The Portuguese Bend area in Rancho Palos Verdes once offered spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean and Catalina Island. Now, much of that land is riddled with chasms. For decades, land movement was minimal. But with above-average rainfall in recent years, that movement rapidly accelerated — up to 1 foot per week in some places. Land movement has since slowed thanks in part to wells the city installed that suck water out of the ground.
What happens now: Rancho Palos Verdes is preparing for a very wet winter as a super El Niño is expected to drench Southern California. In a statement, city spokesperson Megan Barnes told LAist the winterization measures, which include filling large fissures, “fared well” during recent rainfall.
Land in the Portuguese Bend area of Rancho Palos Verdes is now moving more than an inch per week, city officials said in a statement Wednesday. That’s an increase from August, but it is still moving much less than it was last year at this time.
The Portuguese Bend area in Rancho Palos Verdes once offered spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean and Catalina Island. Now, much of that land is riddled with chasms that run as much as 20 feet deep or span a dozen feet across.
For decades, land movement was minimal. But with above-average rainfall in recent years, that movement rapidly accelerated — up to 1 foot per week in some places. Land movement has since slowed, thanks in part to wells the city installed that suck water out of the ground. But damage to the area remains, and the underlying issue will likely never be stopped.
What happens now?
Rancho Palos Verdes is preparing for a very wet winter as a super El Niño is expected to drench Southern California in the coming weeks.
The city reported that the winterization measures, which include filling large fissures, “fared well” during recent rainfall. For instance, pump trucks were not needed on Palos Verdes Drive South, the road through the landslide area that typically floods during rainy weather.
Destiny Torres
covers all things SoCal, from breaking news to local government, with a focus on Orange County.
Published October 29, 2026 8:51 AM
Teamsters Local 952 say they initiated bargaining talks in 2025.
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More than 465 Orange County workers with the Teamsters Local 952 returned to the picket line Thursday after failing to reach a deal late Wednesday. Union officials say they once again expect delays in landfill operations and other county services.
What we know: Union members include heavy equipment operators, waste workers, custodial workers and more from county departments such as OC Public Works and OC Waste & Recycling.
Background: Union leaders say they initiated bargaining talks in 2025 — about six months before the active contract was set to expire. The county and Teamsters Local 952, which represents the workers, have yet to reach a deal and plan to return to the bargaining table Thursday.
Read on … for more on the labor dispute.
More than 465 Orange County workers with the Teamsters Local 952 returned to the picket line Thursday after failing to reach a deal late Wednesday. Union officials say they once again expect delays in landfill operations and other county services.
The workers include heavy equipment operators, waste workers, custodial workers and more from county departments such as OC Public Works and OC Waste & Recycling.
Workers first went on strike on Oct. 13, but went back to work a week later when bargaining resumed.
“The County respects the rights of our dedicated employees to engage in lawful strike activity under California law,” a county spokesperson said in a statement. “The County will continue to execute contingency plans as needed to minimize any service disruptions.”
Union leaders said they initiated bargaining talks in 2025 — about six months before the active contract was set to expire. They also claim the county made no significant movement toward a deal until August.
How we got here
Eric Jimenez, secretary-treasurer for Teamsters Local 952, told LAist that members rejected two county offers, which included a 3% raise and another offer with a 4% raise. Both offers did not include retroactive pay.
“(Workers) didn't do anything to hold these negotiations up,” Jimenez said. “To receive no retroactive pay for something they didn't do … the members took it very offensively.”
What’s next?
County and union officials are expected to meet Thursday for another round of bargaining.
Keep up with LAist.
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Jordan Rynning
has reported from MacArthur Park since early 2025, tracking enforcement and talking to people at the park about what they're experiencing.
Published October 29, 2026 5:00 AM
Law enforcement officials gather for a joint drug enforcement operation near MacArthur Park on June 4, 2026.
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Mayor Karen Bass in February told LAist that arresting people for using drugs in MacArthur Park was "not going to go anywhere.” On June 4, LAPD did exactly that.
Who made that call? A federal prosecutor at the scene said Bass approved the operation. Two days later, Bass told LAist it “was not coming from the city.” Her office later told LAist, “Mayor Bass has directed the LAPD to utilize every resource available to stop the flow of narcotics and stolen merchandise in the park and surrounding area.”
Keep reading… for what we were able to learn about the arrests.
In a February 2026 interview, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass drew a clear line on drug enforcement around MacArthur Park: The city's focus would be on traffickers, not people who were in the park to use drugs.
On June 4, 2026, LAPD officers, working with federal agents, started arresting people in the park for being under the influence, drinking or carrying bulky items. Two days later, at a World Cup watch party in the park, I asked Bass whether she had approved the shift. She told me she had not.
A federal prosecutor who oversaw the operation said she did
Los Angeles Police Department officers stand near two handcuffed men in MacArthur Park on June 4, 2026.
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Police officers and federal agents gather at MacArthur Park on June 4, 2026.
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Law enforcement officials watch as LAPD officers and federal agents sweep through the park to arrest drug users on June 4, 2026.
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Law enforcement officers and officials observe during a drug enforcement operation on June 4, 2026.
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Other members of the Southern California Drug Task Force joined the LAPD for a joint drug enforcement operation on June 4, 2026.
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From left, L.A. County District Attorney Nathan Hochman, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli and DEA Special Agent in Charge Anthony Chrysanthis speak at a press conference after a drug enforcement operation on June 4, 2026.
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First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli and L.A. County District Attorney Nathan Hochman were at the park as the arrests were being made. They told reporters on the scene this was a new stage of operations following the arrests of alleged 18th Street gang leaders and drug distributors.
“This is our third phase of this operation,” Essayli said. “Phase three will be a consistent law enforcement presence in the park to enforce state law, which prohibits people from being under the influence of narcotics and possessing drugs with the intent to use them.”
Hochman said people who were in the park to use drugs would still get assistance with substance use treatment, mental health care or housing. But he said that by bringing demand for drugs to the park, buyers were enabling the illicit trade and turning the park into a “cemetery.”
“If there's no one demanding drugs in the park,” Hochman said, “the suppliers have nowhere to go.”
That framing — that law enforcement would be cracking down on drug use — was a departure from what Bass had told me four months earlier.
In February 2026, I asked Bass about the city's strategy at MacArthur Park. She was direct.
“There is a difference between drug use and drug sales and trafficking,” she told me. “My focus is not on the users, but what I want to do with the users is provide more access to drug treatment programs.”
Enforcement that made a difference, she said, needed to focus on people “trafficking girls,” drugs and stolen goods.
“You can arrest somebody who is under the influence,” she said. “That's not going to go anywhere.”
On June 4, the LAPD arrested people who were under the influence.
On the ground in the park that week, some people told me arresting drug users didn’t seem to change much.
“This park's always gonna be like this, man …” one man, who asked to be identified only as Don't-do-dat, told me. ”We had the DEA and all that raid. Man, that's just for a little while. [People using fentanyl are] gonna be out here again the next day.”
A man who goes by Don't-do-dat sits on a bench in MacArthur Park on June 15, 2026.
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Others welcomed the new enforcement.
“A lot of the people here in the community were happy that there was operations here,” Elaine Alaniz, president of the Westlake North Neighborhood Council, said. “It was temporary, but we got to see, actually, families at the bus stops with their kids — before it wasn’t like that.”
A student at a nearby high school said she doesn’t use the park because she doesn’t feel safe in the area.
“Going outside is pretty scary for me and for my family, because we just see a lot of [people using drugs] and everything going around,” she told me. “I would like to see more kids and families able to just walk around here freely.”
Local and federal agencies conducted two more operations near the park by the end of June, arresting people who were dealing or using drugs.
'That is not coming from the city'
Two days after the June 4 sweep, I asked Bass whether she had approved the targeted arrests of people using drugs.
She was at the park for a World Cup watch party. Federal and county prosecutors had said, on the record and in front of me, that this was a coordinated operation with the mayor's support.
“I've personally spoken with Mayor Bass,” Essayli had told reporters in the park on June 4. “She supports this operation, and LAPD would not be here without her support.”
Bass told me something different.
“That is not coming from the city,” she said about targeting drug users. “I'm sure that you're aware of that. That's coming from the federal government.”
I asked the mayor's office to clarify her remarks, which appeared to contradict what Essayli had said and what I had seen in the park. A spokesperson replied by email that the office would not comment on law enforcement operations, but that “Mayor Bass has directed the LAPD to utilize every resource available to stop the flow of narcotics and stolen merchandise in the park and surrounding area.”
The statement called on L.A. County to increase services in the area.
“Because the State and County — not the City — are responsible for providing mental health and drug treatment services, they must increase funding for treatment facilities and recovery services to stop the revolving door between jail and our parks,” the statement said.
I reached out to County Supervisor Hilda Solis for comment. Solis said the county has expanded services for behavioral health care, substance use treatment and housing in the MacArthur Park area.
“Through these ongoing efforts,” Solis said in an emailed statement, “over 3,000 lives were saved since 2023, and more than 750 were linked to treatment and medication.”
An earlier statement from Bass' office, sent when I first asked whether the city's stance had shifted on the LAPD targeting drug users, did not address the question directly. It said the office would not comment on law enforcement investigations, but that “the park is no place for drug use and criminal activity of any kind.”
“After decades of failures from City Hall, Mayor Bass is leading the way to restore MacArthur Park to families,” the spokesperson wrote.
What remains unresolved: LAPD officers made the arrests. A federal prosecutor watching on said Bass approved. Bass told me she did not.
Over the weeks following the June 4 operation, I asked the district attorney and city attorney's offices whether charges had been filed for the arrests and citations made that day or in similar sweeps that followed. Both offices said they had not been presented with any such cases from the LAPD.
The LAPD did not respond to my request for identifying information about those arrested — information the prosecutors' offices need to search their records and determine whether any of those arrested or cited were placed in diversionary treatment programs.
So the question of what the June 4 arrests actually accomplished — whether they routed people into the treatment Bass said she wanted for users, or moved them somewhere else in the neighborhood — cannot yet be answered from the public record.
What is clear, however, is that the focus on arresting people using drugs in the park wasn’t permanent.
By August, an LAPD officer told the MacArthur Park Neighborhood Council during an online meeting that they would not see any more joint operations between the police department, the DEA and other law enforcement agencies in the park.
The LAPD was transitioning to a final phase of operations, connecting people dependent on drugs in and around MacArthur Park with services while continuing to target suspected drug dealers.
I spoke with LAPD Capt. Ben Fernandes during a town hall on Oct. 13 to get his perspective on what had happened during the June 4 operation.
Fernandes leads the Rampart Division and was on the scene that day.
“The mayor's our boss,” Fernandes said. “But we're peace officers, and we follow the law — and we follow what the chief of police tells us.”
He told me the department tries to follow the mayor’s requests, but that they are “duty-bound” to arrest people when they see them breaking the law.
“I wouldn't say that there was any conflict [with the mayor] there at all,” Fernandes told me. “I would say that we worked with our federal partners and went out and took bad actors to jail, and some of them are going to prison.”
Bass had a different perspective when asked during a DTLA Residents Association forum on Oct. 15 whether she would instruct LAPD to cite or arrest people using drugs in public.
“When LAPD does that, they don't arrest anybody — it's a cite and release,” Bass said. “They don't even get in the car, so I think it's fake. I think what is real is holding people accountable for their drug use.”
Bass said she supports drug court, where some people arrested on nonviolent felony drug charges can have their cases dismissed if they agree to go to supervised recovery programs.
“You can go into treatment or you take a stint in jail,” Bass said.
L.A. City Councilmember Nithya Raman, Bass’ opponent in the race for L.A. mayor, answered the same question by saying she would “direct LAPD to enforce the laws, and they are welcome to enforce the laws however they see fit.”
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Gab Chabrán
covers what's happening in food and culture for LAist.
Published October 29, 2026 5:00 AM
Cole’s on 6th Street in downtown L.A., which new owners hope to reopen before Thanksgiving.
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Topline:
Cole’s French Dip closed its doors in March, to the dismay of the many Angelenos who flocked to its 6th Street location for a last taste. Now under new ownership, the downtown institution that claims to have invented the French dip is set to reopen before Thanksgiving.
Why it matters: Cole’s has been a downtown L.A. fixture since 1908, when it first served commuters on the Pacific Electric streetcar line. It’s one of the city’s oldest restaurants. Its future grew uncertain after then-owner Cedd Moses announced it would close in July 2025.
Why now: New owners Sean Maloney and Jeremy Fall both have deep ties to L.A.’s restaurant scene and are bringing new life to the century-old space. Plans include a new pastrami French dip made with Langer’s pastrami, served on a custom loaf from Clark Street Bread.
Cole’s French Dip, the iconic downtown Los Angeles restaurant that closed its doors in March, is set to return. New owners Sean Maloney and Jeremy Fall are looking to open by Thanksgiving.
The new owners were recent guests on LAist 89.3’s AirTalk, where they discussed their vision for the space. They said they're planning an updated menu, with a new pastrami French dip using thin-sliced pastrami from Langer’s Deli and a custom loaf from Clark Street Bread.
Maloney, who comes from Nancy Silverton’s Mozza group, joked that Fall had talked him into it — but that if no one else had saved Cole’s, it would have been him.
Behind the bar at Cole’s before it closed in March.
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Fall grew up two blocks from Cole’s, where his family ran a restaurant, and said he wants to draw diners from all over L.A. to give people more reasons to come downtown.
Many former staff members are returning, Maloney said. He wants to create a “Cheers”-style space that’s also financially sustainable.
Both remain committed to preserving the building’s historic elements, which they're restoring within its landmark protections. They're also adding more seating, including banquettes. The bar will stay the same, but the overall feel will shift toward a sit-down restaurant.
Storied history
Cole’s is one of L.A.’s oldest restaurants, dating back to 1908, when it began as Cole’s P.E. Buffet, serving Pacific Electric streetcar commuters. Its main claim to fame is having invented the French dip sandwich, a title it has long disputed with Philippe’s the Original in Chinatown.
In 2007, Cedd Moses of 213 Hospitality, now known as Pouring With Heart, restored the interior with a reported $1.6 million. The restoration earned a Los Angeles Conservancy Preservation Award in 2009.
The move also helped spark downtown’s cocktail and nightlife revival, along with the Varnish, Cole’s hidden speakeasy.
In July 2025, however, Moses announced Cole’s would close, citing the pandemic's ongoing effects, the Hollywood strikes, crime, rising rents and operating costs. As fans continued to line up for a final visit, Moses pushed the closing date back several times until it finally shut its doors in March.
