A Review on Microplastics - An Indelible Ubiquitous Pollutant

With the advent of the 20th century, the usage of plastics and the plastic manufacturing industries have risen sharply. Plastics have become an irreplaceable part of our day-to-day life as most of the gadgets/consumables that we use are made of plastic. The improper disposal and management of plastics have impacted our planet negatively by polluting the soil and water. Furthermore, plastics are not biodegradable and persist in nature for a longer duration. The emerging issue with plastics persisting in the environment is the formation of microplastics. Any plastic particles whose length is less than 5mm are classified as microplastics. Owing to their small size, these microplastics can pollute with ease. The widespread presence of such microparticles has deleterious effects on the ecosystem and affects the life contained in it. This review focuses on the different sources of the microplastics, their classification, the various means by which microplastics are distributed in the environment, its isolation, detection, and characterization of microplastics from the environmental samples, the toxicological effects of microplastics on different life forms, and control and clean-up of microplastics from the environment.