![]() Given the prevalence of these plastics across land, sea, and air, it’s perhaps unsurprising to know that we may be ingesting anywhere up to 100,000 microplastic particles daily. Many of these are so small and light that they can float freely in water or even the air, and have been found at altitudes of 11,000 feet in aerial sampling. With heat, UV light and general exposure, it’s all degrading and shedding tiny particles all the time. The simple fact is, there is a huge amount of plastic out in the environment. Transport via the wind has carried microplastics to far off-locales where humans rarely tread, with particles found in Arctic snow and in remote mountainous areas too. Microplastic particles have been found everywhere in table salt, drinking water, and crucially, even floating in the air itself. The particles are shed from all manner of plastic items, from food and beverage containers to polyester fleece clothing. The term was coined by Richard Thompson, who discovered the particles in abundance on British beaches while working as a marine ecologist in 2004. Microplastics are commonly defined as any type of plastic particle less than 5 mm in length. Some jurisdictions have now banned microbeads for their perceived negative impact on the environment. What Are Microplastics? Microbeads became a popular ingredient of many cosmetics like exfoliating scrubs. It seems they may even spread via the air, so let’s take a look at this growing problem and what can be done about it. ![]() They don’t break down well in nature, and now microplastics are beginning to appear all over the Earth, even in places where humans rarely tread. ![]() Now, over 150 years since the development of Parkesine in 1867, we’re now realizing that plastics come with more than a few drawbacks. Every field from electronics to the packaging of food found that plastics could play a role. Plastics took off in the 20th century, with the new class of materials finding all manner of applications that metal, wood and paper simply couldn’t deliver on.
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