Microplastic Pollution Facts

Plastic particles smaller than 5 mm are called microplastic. Microplastic is produced for commercial use and intentionally added to cosmetics and other products. Or it can result from the breakdown of larger plastic items, as well as from abrasion of car tires and fibres from washing synthetic textiles. Microplastic pollutes ecosystems and is found in nearly all living beings.

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Cover of "Clean-ups or cleanwashing? How plastic pollution cleanup technology can actually harm the environment and obstruct policy progress (2023)"
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Clean-ups or cleanwashing? How plastic pollution cleanup technology can actually harm the environment and obstruct policy progress (2023)

Plastic clean-ups have proliferated in response to the growing plastic crisis. Such clean-ups may involve large-scale unsupervised methods of plastic collection that do not discriminate between aquatic life, plastic and organic matter. As a result, the rise of these plastic cleanup technologies has raised red flags in civil society and academia.
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