‘The Environmental Audit Committee launches an inquiry into the environmental impact of microplastics. Key issues include: the scale, sources and consequences of microplastic pollution in the ocean; strategies for dealing with the problem; and the state of our knowledge on the issue.

• Inquiry: Environmental impact of microplastics
• Environmental Audit Committee

Microplastics come from a variety of domestic and industrial applications. They are used in some cosmetic products as exfoliation beads. Other sources include fibres from clothes, particles from tyres, and abrasive sandblasting. These microplastics can’t be fully filtered out by waste water treatment, so are released into the sea. Other microplastics result from the breakup of larger plastic objects in oceans. It is estimated that there are around 250,000 tons of plastic in the oceans (Erikson et al 2014). Risks to human and animal health are currently uncertain.’ 

Deadline for submissions

Written evidence should be submitted by 5pm on Friday 15 April  2016

Send a written submission via the environmental impact of microplastics inquiry page