Microplastics have been found everywhere there is liquid or vapor water, from the oceans and tropical waters to polar ice and the air we breathe, posing growing risks to wildlife and ecosystems.

Synthetic textiles and tires account for more than 60% of ocean microplastic pollution, which enters the seas via runoff and wastewater discharge.

After swallowing 23 pieces of plastic, seabirds experience a 90% death rate

Researchers found that this threshold is also met when marine mammals ingest 29 pieces and when sea turtles consume approximately 405 pieces. Almost half of the sea turtles, a third of the seabirds, and one in ten of the marine mammals studied had eaten plastic.

When diving and snorkeling in environments containing reefs, avoid touching reefs, anchoring on them, or using sunscreen with active ingredients harmful to marine life.

Research shows that over 1,000 metric tons of microplastics fall on national parks every year—equivalent to 120 million bottles of water.

Microplastics 101: What we know about the contaminants invading our bodies

Fifty-one trillion particles of microplastics float in our oceans. Yet there is very little science of how this affects our health. This quick 2-minute video explains the dangers of microplastics.

Many plastic products are molded from melted pellets called nurdles, which are made from ethylene and propylene extracted from crude oil.

The prevalence of microplastics came from plastic’s affordability and versatility

Microplastics' durability and overuse have led to massive pollution that overwhelms the planet's ecosystems. Avian, terrestrial, and marine life have been observed to contain microplastics in their bodies, but reverting to paper, cotton, and other materials in manufacturing also brings environmental challenges.

Microplastics have been found across all of Earth's depths and altitudes, from plastic debris in the Mariana Trench to fragments found in snow samples near the summit of Mount Everest.

Nanoplastics can bypass the blood-brain barrier and may harm the nervous system

Nanoplastics are formed from the breakdown of microplastics and can breach cells. Their large surface area relative to size allows them to carry higher concentrations of forever chemicals than the surrounding environment into sensitive organs.

Microplastics are entering human food chains through carrots, wheat, and other foodstuffs grown in farmlands fertilized by sewage sludge.

View the estimated decomposition times for various everyday plastic products, which often fragment into smaller microplastics as molecular bonds are weakened by sunlight.

Scientists have found that sewage sludge used as fertilizer introduces various microplastics into soil, which persist in farmland for decades.

From soil to beer, microplastic pollution is all around us

Marine plastic pollution has been studied for decades, but the extent and effects of plastic pollution elsewhere is only just beginning to be explored.

Watch how deep-sea mining equipment collects and processes polymetallic nodules—metal-rich, potato-shaped rocks—from the ocean floor and creates environmentally damaging plumes of sediments.

Microplastics are infiltrating the human body with unclear but concerning effects

Scientists have linked microplastics to immune system damage, hormone disruption, inflammatory diseases, and even cancer—yet most of their health impacts remain unknown due to limited research. Studies suggest we ingest about a credit card's worth of plastic weekly.

What to do about the microplastics in your laundry

Synthetic fabrics shed millions of tons of microplastics into oceans each year, largely through laundry wastewater. Here are ways to reduce the pollution.

How plastic manufacturing could be sustainable again

From polymers to nurdles, learn how plastic is created and what we can do to slow the lasting repercussions this material will have on both our planet and our lives.

Research shows that microplastics and nanoplastics can accumulate in major arteries, and patients with these deposits are significantly more likely to suffer heart attacks, strokes, or death.

Plastic debris across the ocean aids the spread of invasive species

The durable, long-lasting material can serve as a platform for living organisms to latch onto and ride over vast distances. After the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, a large dock carrying 100 tons of living organisms native to Japan washed up on Oregon's coastline, confirming the ecological threat.

25 million pounds of beads are distributed every Mardi Gras, leading to environmental concerns

The necklaces—which are mostly made from cheap, often toxic, plastic—are believed to be harmful to New Orleans and its residents. Dr. Howard Mielke, an environmental scientist at Tulane University, found that the majority of lead in the city's soil can be found along Mardi Gras parade routes.

Microplastics have been identified across human body systems, with research finding they are most commonly ingested through inhalation, drinking water, and diet before crossing barriers into organs.

During wash cycles, synthetic fabrics shed millions of plastic microfibers, making them a significant source of global microfiber pollution.

Japanese scientists have developed an eco-friendly plastic that naturally dissolves in hours, leaving behind molecules containing phosphorus and nitrogen, which fertilize soil.

Some algae have helped remove microplastics from water after being bioengineered to clump together with these contaminants, forming an easily collectible microplastic-algae sludge.

While major oil spills result from accidental pipeline ruptures or damage to transportation vessels or rigs, as much as half the oil that reaches coastlines has naturally leaked from the seafloor.

Most plastics are not biodegradable because breaking their chemical bonds requires temperatures lethal to most microbes, and these organisms have not been exposed to plastic long enough to evolve the necessary enzymes.

The challenges of trying to study microplastics in microplastic-abundant labs

The presence of microplastics in instruments, surfaces, and air has made accurate measurement of their levels in lab samples difficult, given the high likelihood of contamination. While the use of stainless steel tools in a sealed, clean lab may reduce accidental exposure, existing methods can misidentify biological substances, such as fat, as plastics, further complicating research.

Scientists have collected critical minerals from ocean water using seaweed, a type of algae that leaves behind a mineral-rich powder called bio-ore after being processed into biofuels.

Research suggests microplastics disrupt photosynthesis in plants and algae, and this damage in crops may already rival the impact of climate change on food supplies.

Deep sea fish rely on a molecular strengthener to prevent being crushed

Trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) stabilizes hydrogen bonds and prevents water and proteins within organisms from being misshapen under immense pressure. Compounds called piezolytes protect cellular membranes from being crushed in regions like the Mariana Trench, where pressures are 1,100 times greater than surface atmospheric pressure.

How existing technology could prevent nearly 80% of plastic pollution

More than 28 million tons of plastic enters the environment each year, where it harms animals and damages habitats. A study co-authored by researchers at The Pew Charitable Trusts found that this flow can be reduced by nearly 80% in the next 20 years using existing waste management and recycling technology.

A remote Scottish island is awash in forever chemicals even though there are no obvious industrial sources nearby, and scientists suspect the toxic substances are accumulating via sea spray.

An overview of the metals obtainable through deep-sea mining of nodules and crusts

Polymetallic nodules are a source of manganese, cobalt, nickel, copper, molybdenum, and platinum, which are used in batteries, fuel cells, and metal alloys of electric vehicles. Seamount crusts contain rare-earth elements deemed essential to US national and economic security, including neodymium and dysprosium used to make permanent magnets.

As of 2025, the FDA states that microplastics have not yet been shown to pose a risk to human health, though it acknowledges that evidence suggests microplastics and nanoplastics have entered the food supply.

Pearls form when a saltwater oyster or a freshwater mussel coats a parasite or other irritant that has entered its shell with concentric layers of calcium carbonate and organic protein.

Harmful algal blooms can occur in warm, nutrient-rich, stagnant waters and are often associated with the rapid reproduction of blue-green algae—a misnomer for cyanobacteria, not algae.

Forever chemicals accumulate up the food web, with recent research indicating that apex predators have higher concentrations because they're eating prey that also have accumulated the substances.