The first-ever chemical analysis of plastic collected from beaches around Lake Geneva detected cadmium, mercury and lead—sometimes in very high concentrations that exceed the maximum permitted under EU law. The abundance of toxic chemicals that are now restricted or banned in plastic production reflects how old the plastic litter could be, reports the study published in Frontiers in Environmental Science. The study—one of very few to examine plastics in freshwater lakes—indicates that like oceans, freshwater habitats are also affected by plastic pollution.