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According to the directive, there is a ban on plastic cotton buds and balloon sticks, plastic plates, cutlery, stirrers and straws, Styrofoam drinks and food packaging (e.g. disposable cups and one-person meals), products made of oxo-degradable plastic, which degrade into microplastics, while cigarette filters, drinking cups, wet wipes ...
As of January 2019, the Oxford English Dictionary did not include the terms plastic soup, neuston plastic or neustonic plastic, but it defined the term microplastic (or micro-plastic) as "Extremely small pieces of plastic, manufactured as such (in the form of nurdles or microbeads) or resulting from the disposal and breakdown of plastic ...
Because plastic is so widely used across the planet, microplastics have become widespread in the marine environment. For example, microplastics can be found on sandy beaches [ 145 ] and surface waters [ 146 ] as well as in the water column and deep sea sediment.
[1] [2] The pervasive presence of plastics in our environment has raised concerns about their long-term impacts on human health. While visible pollution caused by larger plastic items is well-documented, the hidden threat posed by NPs remains under-explored.
A plastic handle from a kitchen utensil, deformed by heat and partially melted. One important classification of plastics is the degree to which the chemical processes used to make them are reversible or not. Thermoplastics do not undergo chemical change in their composition when heated and thus can be molded repeatedly.
A more recent concern in microplastic pollution is the use of plastic films in agriculture. 7.4 million tons of plastic film are used each year to increase food production. [22] Scientists have found that microbial biofilms can form within 7–14 days on plastic film surfaces, and have the ability to alter the chemical properties of the soil ...
Like microbeads, preproduction plastic pellets can be released directly into the environment as a form of primary microplastic pollution. [9] As more plastic is being produced, more plastic pellets are being deposited in waterways. [10] A study on a polyethylene production facility in Sweden found that between 3 and 36 million plastic pellets ...
Polystyrene is not biodegradeable but is susceptible to photo-oxidation, and degrades slowly in the ocean as microplastic marine debris. Animals do not recognize polystyrene foam as an artificial material, may mistake it for food, and show toxic effects after substantial exposure.