Microplastics

Microplastics are fragments of any type of plastic less than 5 mm (0.20 in) in length. They cause pollution by entering natural ecosystems from a variety of sources, including cosmetics, clothing, construction, renovation, food packaging, and industrial processes. In 2014, it was estimated that there are between 15 and 51 trillion individual pieces of microplastic in the world's oceans, which was estimated to weigh between 93,000 and 236,000 metric tons. As of 2023, the cycle and movement ofmicroplastics in the environment was not fully known. Microplastics have a high probability of ingestion, incorporation into, and accumulation in the bodies and tissues of many organisms. The toxic chemicals that come from both the ocean and runoff can also biomagnify up the food chain. microbeads have a long life cycle, for example in cosmetics, but there are still many bioplastic products that have a short life cycle. The term "microplastic" was introduced in 2004 by Professor Richard Thompson, a marine biologist at the University of Plymouth in the United Kingdom.