The Microplastic Crisis Hiding in Plain Sight

This year’s World Environment Day is themed #BeatPlasticPollution, but plastic pollution isn’t always as visible as bottles floating in the Thames or bags tangled in birds’ nests. Sometimes, it’s hidden, and even more dangerous. Microplastics are infiltrating every corner of our planet, with an estimated 51 trillion microplastic particles currently in the ocean, 500 times more than stars in our galaxy. 

What are Microplastics?

Microplastics are plastic fragments less than 5mm in size, created by the breakdown of larger items like bottles, packaging, and synthetic clothing. Some are intentionally manufactured, such as microbeads in cosmetics which were banned in the UK in 2018. Once released, they’re nearly impossible to remove and are now found in oceans, soil, rivers, and even the air we breathe. 

Why does it matter?

The impact of microplastics reach far and wide. In the ocean, they damage the biological carbon pump, a natural process where marine organisms like phytoplankton absorb carbon and carry it to the deep sea. On land, they disrupt soil structure, damage microbial life, and reduce plant growth, all of which reduce carbon storage and worsen climate change. 

Microplastics are also accelerating biodiversity loss. Marine animals ingest these particles, mistaking them for food, leading to injury, poisoning, and death.  Animals often mistake microplastics for food, introducing toxic chemicals into ecosystems, weakening species resilience and disrupting ecological balance. This widespread harm to wildlife, often caused by preventable human activity, raises serious ethical concerns and reflects a disregard for animal welfare, ecosystem health, and the rights of future generations to a liveable planet. 

Consequently, microplastics also pose health risks to humans. According to WWF, we’re consuming about a credit card’s worth of plastic each week, raising concerns about long term exposure. Alarmingly, microplastics have been found in 99% of tested seafood, and even in human brain tissue. 

How can Recorra help your business?

Recorra is working to support your business’s efforts to reduce microplastic pollution. We offer a range of initiatives to help engage and educate your staff: 

• Recycling workshops: educating staff and cleaning teams on waste separation and recycling best practices through engaging sessions.
• Recycling improvement strategies: tailored strategies to help ensure our customers meet Simpler Recycling standards, complete with signage recommendations and bin assessments.
• MRF Tours: eye opening tours of our Material Recovery Facility so clients can see firsthand how recycling really works.
• Beach cleans: we organise community beach cleanups, improving local environments and raising awareness.
• Awareness stands: interactive pop-up stands with games, prizes, and expert advice to promote recycling at your workplace.

Find out more about our engagement initiatives here.

Making Sustainable Choices

One powerful way to reduce microplastic pollution is through sustainable procurement. Recorra supports a circular economy by offering workplace supplies made from recycled materials. We’re also tackling single use items by providing collection schemes for coffee cups and our partnership with Vegware allows us to supply a compostables stream, eliminating the need for plastic food packaging.

Make a Pledge

To truly #BeatPlasticPollution, we need systemic change and individual commitment.  By making a pledge, you can help tackle the plastic crisis; for example, avoiding buying clothing first-hand. This helps to reduce microplastics because synthetic clothing, which is what shops frequently sell, release microfibres into air and water. In fact, 70% of ocean microplastics are the type found in clothes, textiles and fishing gear, so being careful about your textiles consumption can have a huge difference.  Alternatively, you could pledge to reduce your fish consumption, or make sure to bring a reusable coffee cup around with you to avoid using disposable coffee cups.  

By Tara Vellani