Microplastics in the ocean: under the blue economy perspective

Plastic waste released into marine ecosystems is a constant call for research. The socioeconomic and ecological impacts of this waste go from the local to the international level. Due to the complexity of the subject, a holistic perspective is needed to understand plastic pollution processes and find solutions. In this scenario, the Blue Economy presents itself as the decoupling of socioeconomic activities, the increase in environmental degradation and the optimization of benefits from coastal and marine resources. Based on this inference, this essay aims to understand the increase in microplastics in the ocean under the pillars of the blue economy with a view to repressing the sources of the seas and ocean and minimizing their unwanted impacts. For this, as a methodological approach, an analysis of such systems was carried out in a literature review, based on organized books and articles published in scientific journals deposited in recognized databases and peer-reviewed. Thus, it is clear that a transition to a "blue" economy implies more sustainable actions by traditional industries, addressing the environmental issue as a core and reverberating with other associated issues, so that innovative initiatives are the main effort to respond to years of neglect of the microplastic theme.