What are microplastics?
Microplastics are small pieces of plastic less than 5 mm in size. They include particles that have been engineered, such as the microbeads in exfoliating washes (primary microplastics), as well as fragments that are produced when larger plastic items break down (secondary microplastics). Microplastics can be made of many different types of polymer (e.g. polyethylene or polystyrene). Some of these are buoyant in water, others are denser and sink. They can also look quite different, from spherical microbeads to elongated fibres and small fragments — and even pieces of glitter.
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