Glitter is ready-made microplastic pollution – time to ditch it this Christmas: Efetova Anna / shutterstock A few months ago, shoppers in Germany were reported to have been stockpiling decorative glitter. That’s because it is now officially banned in the EU. Glitter is made of plastic, and since plastic doesn’t really degrade, almost every bit …
Hundreds of millions of microplastic particles could be flowing into UK rivers, hidden in raw sewage: Graiff/Shutterstock Microplastics are everywhere. Snow close to the peak of Mount Everest was found to contain on average 30 microplastic particles per litre. And 11,000m below sea level, in the Pacific Ocean’s Mariana Trench, an average of 2,200 microplastic …
Bottle-fed babies may consume millions of microplastic particles, our research suggests: Evso/Shutterstock Microplastics can now be found in almost every environment on Earth, but scientists know surprisingly little about how the products we use every day shed these tiny plastic particles. If you drink from a plastic water bottle or eat out of a microwaveable …
Lagos beaches have a microplastic pollution problem: Plastic washed up on the seashore in Lagos, Nigeria Shutterstock Plastic debris is everywhere and has grabbed the attention of environmental policy makers and regulators. When this plastic breaks up into smaller particles – less than 5mm in size – they are called microplastics. In some cases, they …
Microplastic pollution and wet wipe ‘reefs’ are changing the River Thames ecosystem: London – June 19 2018: Volunteers cleaning the southern shores of the Thames from waste during low tide. Daniel Lange/Shutterstock Ever since the issue was highlighted in shows like “Blue Planet 2”, plastic pollution in the world’s oceans has generated a wave of …