Microplastics in Sparkling Water: LaCroix, Bubly & Spindrift Ranked (2026)

MicroPlastics Research DeskEditorial team

July 29, 2026

10 min read

Last reviewed: July 29, 2026 by the MicroPlastics Research Desk. Submit a correction or see our editorial standards.

Quick Answer

Yes, and the container matters more here than it does for still water. No brand publishes microplastic testing on its sparkling water, so the honest ranking is by packaging. The mechanism that makes carbonated drinks different is pressure and agitation: dissolved CO₂ keeps a bottle under constant internal pressure, and every shake, drop, and temperature swing works that pressure against the container wall. Mechanical stress is an established driver of particle release from plastic bottles, which means a PET bottle of sparkling water is a worse choice than a PET bottle of still water. Aluminum cans sidestep the shedding problem but introduce a thin internal polymer liner and its bisphenol questions. Glass is the only format with neither issue, and Topo Chico, Perrier and San Pellegrino all sell it.

Holding a different bottle? Scan it for the polymer, a 0–100 risk score, and a cleaner swap.

Scan my product

Cans and bottles of sparkling water on a kitchen counter

Last updated: July 29, 2026

Key Takeaways

No sparkling water brand has published a particle count, so treat any specific number you see as invented. Packaging is the axis you can actually reason about.
Carbonation adds constant internal pressure, and mechanical stress is a documented driver of microplastic release from plastic bottles. Fizzy in PET is worse than still in PET.
Cans avoid bottle shedding but have an epoxy or acrylic inner liner, so they trade a microplastics question for a bisphenol one.
Glass is the only genuinely clean format. Topo Chico, Perrier and San Pellegrino all offer it, usually for a few cents more per litre.
Heat is the multiplier for every plastic format. A case of seltzer stored in a hot garage or car boot is the worst-case scenario.

Why carbonation changes the answer

Most of what you read about microplastics in bottled water is about still water, and the headline finding there is already substantial: a 2024 study using stimulated Raman scattering microscopy counted roughly 240,000 detectable plastic particles per litre in common bottled waters, the large majority of them nanoplastics small enough that earlier methods missed them entirely. That work was done on ordinary PET bottled water.

Carbonated water sits on top of that baseline with an extra mechanism. Dissolved CO₂ means the container is permanently pressurised from the inside. Separate research on plastic bottles has shown that mechanical stress, squeezing, shaking, repeated opening, and temperature cycling, measurably increases particle release from the bottle wall. Carbonation supplies that stress continuously rather than occasionally, and a warm bottle raises the internal pressure further.

This is why the usual advice to “just buy the big plastic bottle and decant” works less well for seltzer than for still water. It is also why the can-versus-bottle decision is worth more here than almost anywhere else in the drinks aisle.

The three formats, honestly

Glass (best). No polymer in contact with the water at all. The cap liner is a tiny sealing surface and the only plastic in the system. This is the only format where the microplastics question essentially goes away.
Aluminum can (good, with an asterisk). Aluminum cannot shed microplastics, so the PET problem disappears. But every food-grade can has a thin internal epoxy or acrylic liner to stop the metal reacting with the contents, and that liner is where bisphenol questions live. Most major brands have moved to BPA-NI (“non-intent”) liners, which means BPA is not deliberately used, not that the liner is inert. See are cans lined with plastic for the full picture.
PET plastic bottle (worst). You get the still-water baseline plus the carbonation stress on top, plus whatever the bottle picked up from warehouse heat and shelf time. Large multi-serve PET bottles are the worst case because they are opened and resealed repeatedly, each cycle adding another pressure swing.

Sparkling water brands ranked by packaging

Major sparkling water brands through a plastics lens. Ranked on packaging, not on a particle count, because no brand publishes one.
Brand	Usual packaging	Main plastic driver	Verdict
Topo Chico	Glass bottle (also cans)	Cap liner only	Best available. Buy the glass.
Perrier	Glass bottle, can, or PET	Depends entirely on format	Excellent in glass, ordinary in PET
San Pellegrino	Glass bottle, can, or PET	Depends entirely on format	Excellent in glass, ordinary in PET
Spindrift	Aluminum can	Can liner	Strong. Real fruit, no plastic bottle
Waterloo	Aluminum can	Can liner	Strong. Can-only line-up
LaCroix	Aluminum can	Can liner	Strong. Can-only line-up
Bubly	Aluminum can	Can liner	Strong. Can-only line-up
Liquid Death (sparkling)	Aluminum can	Can liner	Strong, same logic as the still version
Store-brand seltzer	Usually PET bottle	Bottle shedding + carbonation stress	Weakest common option
Home carbonator (SodaStream etc.)	Reusable PET or glass carafe	Carafe material, your choice	Best overall if you pick the glass carafe

The pattern is unmistakable and it has nothing to do with brand quality or price: the flavour house you prefer barely matters, the container decides your exposure. A budget can beats a premium PET bottle on this measure every time.

The home-carbonation option

If you drink sparkling water daily, carbonating filtered water at home is the single biggest reduction available, because it removes both the warehouse heat and the shelf time. Two caveats worth knowing:

Choose the glass carafe. Most home carbonators ship with a reusable PET bottle by default, and a reusable pressurised PET bottle that gets washed, refilled and re-pressurised hundreds of times is exactly the mechanical-stress scenario the research describes. Glass carafe versions are widely available.
Filter first. Carbonating tap water carbonates whatever is already in it. A filter that is actually rated for particle reduction does the useful work here, see water filters compared.

Practical rules that actually move the number

Glass first, can second, PET last. That ordering holds across every brand.
Never store it warm. Heat raises both plastic shedding and internal pressure. A case in a hot garage, car boot, or sunny porch is the worst thing you can do to it.
Skip the big resealable PET bottles. Repeated opening and resealing means repeated pressure cycling on the same wall.
Don't freeze or shake PET. Both are mechanical stress, and a shaken carbonated bottle is under far more load than a still one.
If you buy cans, that is a genuinely good choice, just know you have swapped a shedding question for a liner question rather than eliminating both.

What the MicroPlastics app checks

The container material of the exact sparkling water you buy, read off the label, including which brands sell the same product in glass.
A 0–100 risk score that weighs packaging, carbonation, and format together rather than treating all bottled water alike.
A lower-plastic swap in the same flavour category, usually a canned or glass version of something you already drink.
Your running drinks profile, so a daily seltzer habit shows up as a pattern instead of a one-off scan.

Use the App

Scan the seltzer you actually buy

Glass, can, or PET changes the answer more than the brand on the label does. Scan your usual sparkling water with MicroPlastics for a 0–100 score and the lowest-plastic version of the same drink.

Scan my sparkling water

Frequently Asked Questions

Does sparkling water have more microplastics than still water?

In the same plastic bottle, very likely yes. Dissolved CO2 keeps the container under constant internal pressure, and mechanical stress is an established driver of particle release from plastic bottles. Carbonation supplies that stress continuously. In a can or a glass bottle the comparison reverses, because neither format can shed PET at all.

Is LaCroix or Bubly better for microplastics?

There is no meaningful difference between them. Both are sold almost exclusively in aluminum cans, so both avoid the plastic-bottle shedding problem and both carry the same internal can-liner question. Neither publishes microplastic testing. Choose on flavour, and if you want a genuine upgrade, move to a glass-bottled brand such as Topo Chico.

Are aluminum cans actually free of plastic?

No. Every food-grade aluminum can has a thin internal polymer liner, usually epoxy or acrylic, to stop the metal reacting with the contents. It is a very thin layer and it does not shed microplastics the way a PET bottle does, but it is the reason a can is not a zero-plastic container. Most large brands now use BPA-NI liners, which means BPA is not intentionally added.

Does a SodaStream reduce microplastics?

It can, substantially, but only if you use the glass carafe and filter the water first. The default reusable PET bottle gets washed, refilled and re-pressurised repeatedly, which is precisely the mechanical-stress cycle that increases particle release. With a glass carafe and filtered water it is the lowest-plastic way to drink sparkling water daily.

Does leaving seltzer in a hot car make it worse?

Yes, and more so than for still water. Heat independently increases microplastic release from plastic, and it also raises the internal pressure of a carbonated container, adding mechanical load on top. Cans are far less affected than PET bottles, but no plastic-containing format benefits from being stored warm.

Sources

Qian N, Gao X, Lang X, et al. (2024). Rapid single-particle chemical imaging of nanoplastics by SRS microscopy. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
Winkler A, Santo N, Ortenzi MA, et al. (2022). Does mechanical stress cause microplastic release from plastic water bottles?. Water Research.
Kosuth M, Mason SA, Wattenberg EV (2018). Anthropogenic contamination of tap water, beer, and sea salt. PLOS ONE.

Track every water source you actually drink

The app tracks every bottled brand, filtered tap source, and travel-water situation in your routine over time, not just the ones you read about. Build your real personal water exposure profile.

Download on the App Store

Free on iOS
3 free scans
No sign-up
Result in seconds

“Really cool to scan stuff around the kitchen and see what's actually in it. The swaps it suggests are realistic.” App Store review · 5.0★

Android · early access

Get the launch email the day Android opens.

One email. No spam. We send when the Android app is in the Play Store, and never again unless you opt in.