I cleaned out the veggie drawer last night and made a big stir fry for dinner. Garlic, ginger, carrots, onion, a couple different kinds of peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, spinach, celery, and scallions. It was a lot of chopping. 512 chops to be exact.

Yes, I counted. And here’s why: According to a new study by researchers at North Dakota State University, had I been using a plastic cutting board, rather than my bamboo one, I would have created between 1,536 and 7,680 little specks of plastic, all clinging to the board, my knife, and, yes, my veggies. Yum.

I’ve used plastic cutting boards for years, so this report was unsettling. I decided to call the main author of the study to learn more.