BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Microplastics are one of the biggest issues facing the ocean at

this time. They are having an impact on marine animals,
ecosystems and ultimately human health. In order to be able to do
something about this problem we need to know where the
microplastics are, how much there is and what type of plastic it is.
Microplastic is created when large of plastic items break
down. Often, they are too small to be seen, float in water and get
eaten by sea life. These are degraded plastic remains that range in
size of less than 5 millimeters.
Tiny bits of plastic, called “microplastics”, are made in two
main ways. The first is when tiny bits of plastic are made on
purpose. For example, the small plastic beads, called “microbeads”,
that are often added to facewash or toothpaste. Another example is
cloth such as Polar fleece, which is made of lots of tiny plastic
threads. The other way microplastics are made is when bigger
pieces of plastic break into smaller pieces.
More than 9 million tons of plastic contaminate the ocean. In
just 68 years, we have managed to produce 448 million tons of
plastic. By 2050, there shall be more plastic than fish in the ocean.
So, what can we do to help? Self-awareness is important to
understand the impact of microplastic and my study will let you
learn more about it.