Different types of micro plastics

Figure source: Sources of microplastic in the ocean | ©Waterkeeper

The microplastics are ≤ 5mm plastic particles found in the oceans and lands. It can be divided into primary group and secondary group in which the former is the origin virgin granules and later is originated from the degradation of macro plastics (1). Depending on the nature of microplastic forms, these micro plastics can be distinguished into microfibers, microbeads, micro fragments, nurdles and foam.

• Microfibers come from things such as fleece clothing, diapers and cigarette butts and also these microfibers can contain toxic chemical that are intentionally added to textiles during the manufacturing process (2).
• Microbeads are plastic particle which is less than one millimeter in diameter and found in facial cleansers, exfoliating soap products, and toothpaste. To introduce a ban on microbeads in cosmetic products, the Netherlands were the first country in 2014 and several countries, including Australia, Canada, Italy, Korea, New Zealand, Sweden, the UK and the US have followed suit (2, 3).
• Micro fragments are smaller pieces of plastics that are degraded from larger pieces of plastic and mostly are from cutlery, lids, or single-use products by a condition such as photodegradation (2).
• Nurdles, also known as plastic resin pellets, are used to manufacture the plastic goods and now a major source of plastic pollution on beaches globally (4).
• The last one is foam and they are broken down into small pieces from Styrofoam which are used as food containers, coffee cups, and packing material (4).

Ref:

1. Kazmiruk TN, Kazmiruk VD, Bendell LI (2018). Abundance and distribution of microplastics within surface sediments of a key shellfish growing region of Canada. PLoS ONE 13(5): e0196005. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0196005

2. https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2020-07/documents/article_2_microfibers.pdf
3. https://www.oecd.org/stories/ocean/webbooks/dynamic/ocean-policies/609ea0bf/pdf/microbeads-in-cosmetics.pdf
4. Xiangtao Jiang, Niki Conner, Kaijun Lu, Jace W. Tunnell, Zhanfei Liu, “Occurrence, distribution, and associated pollutants of plastic pellets (nurdles) in coastal areas of South Texas”, Science of The Total Environment,Volume 842, 2022.

By: Moe Thazin Shwe, SOLEN Research Associate – IPC panel member
Edited: Hendra Winastu, SOLEN Principal Associate – IPC panel cordinator
Date: 21 November 2022
Article#: SOLEN-IPC-0004

The Former Article: https://solenvn.com/en/treatment-of-microplastic-pollution/
The Latter Article: https://solenvn.com/en/solid-waste/