Microplastics (MPs) were identified as one of the major environmental threats. The work plastic comes form the Greek term plastikos, which means that it can remain shaped in various systems. Global plastic production did hit approximately 348 million tonnes in 2017, being China the largest producer responsible of 27% of worlwide pollution. It is estimated that more than 8300 million tonnes of virgin plastic have been produced to date. MPs are directly released into the water or formed by degradation of bigger plastics. In short, annually between 4 and 12 millions of tonnes of plastics are going into the oceans and most probably in 2050 will exceed the amount of fish The rest of the plastic, between 22–43%, ends up as landfills, causing the soil lose its fertility. Most of the plastic wastes are non biodegradable and can take up to 500 years to decompose.

Peer reviewed