Microplastics are defined as plastics less than five millimetres in size. There are two categories of microplastics: primary and secondary. Primary microplastics are tiny particles designed for commercial use, such as cosmetics, as well as microfibers shed from clothing and other textiles, such as fishing nets. Secondary microplastics are particles that result from the breakdown of larger plastic items such as water bottles. This breakdown is caused by exposure to environmental factors, mainly the sun’s radiation and ocean waves.

Microplastics like any other plastics do not biodegrade into harmless molecules and their invasion appears to occur across all ecosystems, from the terrestrial to marine environments creating following impacts

• Oceans: Oceans and marine life is most vulnerable to exposure to microplastics. According to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), 13 million tonnes of plastic leak into the oceans every year. It enters the food chain and it has been detected in marine organisms from plankton to whales. Ingested plastic materials can be damaging for marine organisms, as they can lead to digestive blockage or internal damage from abrasion.
• Soils: Sludge discharges, debris from plastic waste decomposition are key sources of microplastics in the soil, which results in degradation of soil impacting agriculture and contaminating groundwater.
• Biodiversity hotspots: Oceanic and wind currents transport these microplastics to pristine ecologies and contaminate them. As microplastics provide abundant surfaces for small organisms to attach, it provides colonization opportunities to invasive species.
• Human health: Microplastics pass the filtration and treatment processes for wastewater due to small size and end up in sites of nature endangering the food chain.
  • Carcinogenic chemicals present in the plastic materials interfere with the body’s endocrine system, causing developmental, reproductive, neurological, and immune disorders in both humans and wildlife.

Further, many coastal communities are dependent on ocean resources for their livelihood and well- being, which gets negatively impacted by the microplastics pollution. In this context, tackling the problem of microplastics requires a range of responses, such as:

• Reduce plastic uses: Use of alternative eco-friendly substitutes for plastic products like cloth, paper, jute bags should be encouraged and adopted. Further, single use plastic should be completely discontinued by 2022 as decided by the government.
• Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR): It should be the responsibility of the producer to collect used plastics. Further, an effective publicly accessible waste disposal mechanism for creation of a circular economy needs to be provided.
• Behavioural change in society: “Nudges” and campaigns aimed at reducing the use of plastics products and synthetic textiles needs to be undertaken as a social awareness measure.
• Policy and legislative measures: Higher taxes should be levied on products releasing microplastics and national level legislation to holistically deal specifically with microplastic should be legislated.
• Protecting water bodies: Management of runoff and wastewater to treat microplastics needs to be improved in order to check the export of microplastics from cities and the landscape and restore affected water ecosystems.
• Technological solutions and innovations: Scientists need to devise ways to break plastic down into its most basic units, which can be rebuilt into new plastics or other materials.

In this context, India is undertaking a study to understand the extent of microplastic pollution in the marine ecosystem, which is supposed to help frame National Marine Litter Policy. In a similar manner, a policy specifically and holistically dealing with microplastics needs to be framed.