Backgrounder

Microplastics: Resources, Experts & More

Learn about how these tiny—sometimes microscopic—particles of plastic affect your health and the environment.

Media Contact

Margie Kelly
Senior Strategic Communications Manager

Global plastic production has increased exponentially over the past 75 years; with that comes millions of tons of plastic pollution in our oceans, landfills, and even inside our bodies. Our growing use of plastics means that microplastics—tiny particles less than five millimeters long that are linked to the thousands of chemicals found in plastics—will continue to be released into the environment. 

Scientists are only just beginning to understand the full extent of microplastic pollution, but these particles have already permeated our planet: Researchers have found microplastics in food, drinking water, human placentas, and in remote places like the Arctic and the ocean seabed. On top of impacting human health, microplastics can cause ecological harm that will likely have ripple effects across the entire food chain. 

Linked below are fact sheets, expert blogs, guides, and other resources that break down the dangers of microplastics and plastics on our health and environment. 

Play Video: The Hidden Cost of Plastic | What the Earth, Episode 8

WATCH: The Hidden Cost of Plastic | What the Earth, Episode 8: NRDC’s director of plastics and petrochemical advocacy Renée Sharp talks about the long-lasting impacts of plastic in our bodies and our communities, as well as the culprit behind all of it.

Microplastics experts at NRDC

Headshot of Renée Sharp
Renée Sharp
Director, Plastics and Petrochemical Advocacy, Environmental Health
Headshot of Katie Pelch
Dr. Katie Pelch
Senior Scientist, Environmental Health

Resources: Microplastics

An illustration of two people back to back with microplastics within the illustration

Microplastics Are a Growing Threat

10 ways to reduce your (and your family's) exposure to microplastics.

A man drinking out of a plastic water bottle.

Microplastics Deluge

How these small plastic particles harm our health and the environment

Microplastics collected from a beach cling to a person's fingers.

New Review Highlights Human Health Risks from Microplastic Exposure

A recently published review concludes that exposure to microplastics is suspected to harm human reproduction and digestive and respiratory health.

Children walk beside the River Buriganga where plastic waste floats in the water after a recent cleanup in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on May 22, 2025. Despite such efforts, plastic pollution remains a persistent issue, impacting both the environment and the lives of those who depend on the river.

Microplastic Is Inside Your Body

As plastic pollution piles up across the globe, researchers are busy investigating the potential negative outcomes to our health.

Microplastic particles on a person's fingertip.

Double Trouble

PFAS microplastics are forever.

Resources: Plastics

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A woman shopping in the beverage aisle of a grocery store.

$1 Trillion: The Social Cost of Plastic in the United States

Expert BlogUnited StatesRenée Sharp, Shannon Goff
A new report shows that the true costs of plastic are far more than what you see on the price tag.
A plastic cup among a pile of wet leaves and branches on the ground

Single-Use Plastics 101

GuideUnited StatesCourtney Lindwall
Here’s everything you need to know about the most ubiquitous (and avoidable) kind of plastic waste: the kind made to be tossed in mere minutes.
A child drinking a glass of water, with a graphic pointing to the water showing magnified microplastics

What You Need to Know About the Plastic Crisis

Expert BlogUnited States, InternationalRenée Sharp, Avinash Kar
Plastic pollution imperils our health and the well-being of the planet.
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A six pack of bottled water on a kitchen counter.

Bottled Water vs. Tap Water

GuideUnited States
Lots of people think drinking bottled water is safer. Is it?
An illustration of a Teflon (Polytetrafluoroethylene, PTFE) pan on a stove with heatwaves coming from it; tomatoes, a piece of broccoli, and a spinach leaf surrounded by PTFE particles float near the pan. To the right a man with his internal organs visible and particles traveling throughout his organs representing Teflon (Polytetrafluoroethylene, PTFE).

Why Nonstick Pans Are a Hot Mess

ExplainerUnited StatesShelia Hu
The reasons to get PFAS out of cookware go far beyond the kitchen.
A sign that read "stop plastic pollution" with an illustration of a pile of single use plastic bottles being displayed at a rally

Poll: People Want Action on Plastics for Health and Wildlife

Expert BlogInternational, Canada, United States, Ohio, PennsylvaniaDaniel Rosenberg
New poll results show overwhelming public support for government action to address the plastic crisis, including a strong global plastics treaty.
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Toxics Human Health