microplastic

American  

[mahy-kroh-plas-tik] / ˈmaɪ kroʊˌplæs tɪk /

noun

1. a tiny particle of plastic, especially one five millimeters or smaller, formed from the breakdown of plastic waste, shed from synthetic textiles, or intentionally added to various products.

   Microplastics are a problem because marine life mistakes the floating particles for food.

2. these tiny particles of plastic taken collectively.

   Microplastic is still used in some cosmetics and personal care products.

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Etymology

Origin of microplastic

First recorded in 1955–60; micro- ( def. ) + plastic ( def. )

Example Sentences

They also call for coordinated governance frameworks that address both microplastic pollution and climate change, particularly in relation to ocean warming and acidification.

From Science Daily

“Microplastic conversations are constant now,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal

At any rate, as one of the scientists critical of the study put it to the Guardian in a report published Tuesday: “The brain microplastic paper is a joke.”

From Slate

None of this is to say that there affirmatively isn’t any microplastic in your brain, blood, etc—but how much is unclear, and when it comes to toxicity, the dose still makes the poison, even when we’re talking brain plastic.

From Slate

"We did an episode on microplastics", says Xand, "where we talked about a scientific paper that estimated there was about a spoon's worth of microplastic in your brain".

From BBC