An Overview of Methods for Identification and Quantification of Microplastics in the Marine Environment

Sophie Jones

Since the development of synthetic polymers in the middle of the twentieth century, the global output of plastics has expanded dramatically. Plastics can be an environmental danger when they are abandoned in the maritime environment. 3,4 Plastic waste comes in all shapes and sizes, from micrometres to metres, and enters the marine ecosystem. Microplastic particles are made up of either microscopic-sized manufactured plastics, such as scrubbers and industrial pellets, which serve as precursors for manufactured plastic products (primary sources), or fragments or fibres of plastics derived from the breakdown of larger plastic products (secondary sources) (secondary sources). Plastic degradation is exceedingly slow, therefore microplastics could linger in the marine environment for a very long time.