Microplastics: Emerging Contaminants Requiring Multilevel Management

Microplastics are persistent, pervasive environmental pollutants with a range of diverse sources. Since the relatively recent discovery of the abundance of microplastic in marine habitats, there has been a rapid development in the literature outlining its distribution and effects. Observations have been reported from mountain lakes and deep ocean sediments, and have been recorded in the tissues of species from microscopic invertebrates to whales. Although the impact on biota varies greatly between species, tests have revealed changes in nutritional state, histology, enzyme function, and life span. Annual production of microplastics and their macroplastic parent material presents a huge challenge to management authorities. Initial efforts to control microplastic pollution relate closely to specific domestic and industrial sources; early management techniques are themselves diverse, and include the adaptation of traditional waste streams, the development of aquatic collectors, and governmental control of the manufacture and sale of individual plastic products.