Plastic Waste

Plastic waste including Microplastics (MPs) are small bits of plastic either engineered for end-products, or the result of environmental degradation of polymer-based trash.

What are MPs?

MPs are classified into Primary and Secondary MPs. Primary MPs are directly released into the environment as small plastic particles. These are intentionally engineered particles, like those found in some consumer and industrial products. Cosmetics have used MPs as abrasives. Secondary MPs are the result of the degradation of large plastic waste, like plastic bags and bottles, into smaller plastic fragments when exposed to our environment. But these particles often weather, degrade or abrade from environmental or physical events, ending up in our oceans and elsewhere.