Microplastics Are a Big—and Growing—Part of Global Pollution
www.pew.org
Ocean plastic pollution is an urgent and global problem. The Pew Charitable Trusts’ recent report, “Breaking the Plastic Wave,” and accompanying paper in the journal Science, provides the results of an ambitious modeling effort to understand how plastic production, use, and disposal contribute to this issue. Most of the attention paid to the issue has focused on daily-use goods such as food and consumer product packaging. However, Pew found that tiny fragments known as microplastics make up significant amounts of ocean plastic pollution that are often not accounted for in pollution estimates or possible solutions.

Our report found that in 2016, four sources of microplastics alone accounted for 1.3 million metric tons (Mt)—or 11%—of total ocean plastic pollution. These were microbeads used in personal care products such as face scrubs and body washes; the breakdown of plastic fibers caused when synthetic textiles are washed; plastic pellets, also known as nurdles, that are used in the production of almost every plastic item; and the wear and tear of car tires, with this final source making up more than three quarters (78%) of microplastic pollution in the ocean.

For tires, improving design and reducing the number of miles driven, for example by increasing use of public transport instead of individual/private cars, can nearly halve microplastic pollution from tires by 2040.