Microplastics: The Invisible Pollutant with Global Consequences

By Imogen Morgan, BSc Geography Graduate, University of Liverpool

When we talk about plastic pollution, it’s usually the obvious things we encounter day to day that spring to mind like beach litter, bottles in rivers, or overflowing bins in city centres. But a new, threatening phenomenon, far smaller and more persistent, is hiding in plain sight: microplastics.

As a recent student in the field of sustainability at the University of Liverpool, I’ve spent much of my time exploring this issue how microplastics are formed, where they travel, and what they’re doing to the planet, and to us. What I’ve come to understand is that these tiny particles aren’t just a byproduct of our lifestyles they’re a reflection of them. And they’re now everywhere. They’re a hidden issue in every business.

What actually Are Microplastics and where do they come from?

Microplastics, typically less than 5mm in size, usually come from two main sources:

A significant direct input is  Primary microplastics

tiny microbeads made specifically for their use in cosmetics, once common in the UK but now banned (Venus, 2020). Another major source is nurdles small pellets used as the raw material for nearly every plastic product manufactured today. Their size gives them vast dispersal potential.

Secondary microplastics

on the other hand, come from the fragmentation of larger plastic items — bottles, food wrappers, synthetic clothing. Any plastic we’ve ever used in our lifetimes will undergo fragmentation. Over time, exposure to sunlight, weather, and friction degrades these items into smaller and smaller pieces. This process happens everywhere on factory floors, in washing machines, on roadsides and continues once these plastics enter the environment.

Once they escape our supply chains in business, what happens?

Once released, these particles are almost impossible to contain due to their pervasive nature. Microplastics have now been found on every corner of earth, from the Arctic poles (Saud et.al, 2023), to deep-sea trenches (Abed, 2023), and even within rainwater in the Pyrenees (Allen et.al, 2019).

Why Should We Care?

Alarmingly, once in our water systems, microplastics are difficult to filter out (Venus, 2020), often ending up in our drinking water. They’ve also infiltrated the food chain. Due to our consumption of seafood, microplastics are now being found in human blood (Enyoh et.al, 2023), and airborne microplastics are being inhaled and detected in human lungs (Amato-Lourenço et.al, 2021). Each person may inhale 26-130 airborne microplastics every day (Prata, 2018).

Microplastic ingestion or exposure can transfer the toxic chemicals they carry like persistent organic pollutants (POPs), and endocrine disruptor chemicals (EDCs). Studies link this exposure to hormone disruption, cancer and increased mortality in both humans and wildlife (Gallo et.al, 2018).

What’s more, these particles don’t biodegrade  they persist, accumulating in the environment and, over time, in us. Since they’re largely invisible, it’s a challenge harder to tackle and easier to ignore.

Business Has a Role to Play

This isn’t just a household recycling issue. Microplastic pollution is a supply chain issue and a business one.

Many of these plastics can be limited through effective microplastic management by businesses. Customer awareness and business response go hand in hand, together they’re the future to solving our environmental challenges (Rylander, 2020).

Plastics enter the environment at multiple points: during manufacturing, transport, storage, and disposal. Decisions made at boardroom level about materials, packaging, product design play a crucial role in how much plastic is created and how likely it is to become pollution.

Now working as an intern in a sustainability-focused business, I’ve seen firsthand how organisations can either fuel or fight the problem. From choosing recyclable materials to reducing synthetic textiles, from investing in closed-loop systems to setting supplier standards, companies truly have real power. — Imogen Morgan, Sustainability Intern

The tide is turning. We’re witnessing bold action across sectors like fashion, cleaning, and FMCG — with innovations in sustainable textiles, biodegradable packaging, and zero-waste supply models. But we need more companies stepping up, not just because it’s trendy, but because it genuinely matters.

Businesses have the power to enact change that protects ecosystems as far reaching as deep ocean trenches and the Arctic. Why not offset the damage, and leave a better impact in its place?

Sources used

Abel, S.M., Wu, F., Primpke, S., Gerdts, G. and Brandt, A., 2023. Journey to the deep: plastic pollution in the hadal of deep-sea trenches. Environmental Pollution, 333, p.122078.

Allen, S., Allen, D., Phoenix, V.R., Le Roux, G., Durántez Jiménez, P., Simonneau, A., Binet, S. and Galop, D., 2019. Atmospheric transport and deposition of microplastics in a remote mountain catchment. Nature Geoscience, 12(5), pp.339–344.

Amato-Lourenço, L.F., Carvalho-Oliveira, R., Júnior, G.R., dos Santos Galvão, L., Ando, R.A. and Mauad, T., 2021. Presence of airborne microplastics in human lung tissue. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 416, p.126124.

Gallo, F., Fossi, C., Weber, R., Santillo, D., Sousa, J., Ingram, I., Nadal, A. and Romano, D., 2018. Marine litter plastics and microplastics and their toxic chemical components: the need for urgent preventive measures. Environmental Sciences Europe, 30, pp.1–14.

Prata, J.C., 2018. Airborne microplastics: consequences to human health?. Environmental Pollution, 234, pp.115–126.

Rylander, D., 2020. The role of microplastics in business: Perception and actions.

Saud, S., Yang, A., Jiang, Z., Ning, D. and Fahad, S., 2023. New insights into the environmental behavior and ecological toxicity of microplastics. Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances, 10, p.100298.

Venus, O., 2020. National marine microbead policy in developed nations: How microbead bans have influenced microplastic pollution in waterways and begun the trend towards international collaboration (Doctoral dissertation).