The threat of pellets and other microplastics in the ecosystem

Plastic pellets – the small, lentil-sized granules used as raw material in plastic manufacturing – along with fragments of larger plastic items broken down by sunlight and weathering, make up a category of pollution that is largely invisible to the naked eye but increasingly present in soils, rivers and oceans.

Danger in miniature

Their small size is precisely what makes microplastics so problematic. Unlike larger plastic litter, which can be collected and removed relatively straightforwardly, microplastics spread easily through water and air, settle into soil and sediment, and are readily ingested by organisms throughout the food chain – from plankton to fish to the animals, including humans, that eat them.

A silent enemy

Because microplastics don't accumulate visibly the way larger litter does, their presence often goes unnoticed until it's measured directly – in water samples, in soil, or in the tissue of marine animals. This "silent" quality means the scale of the problem can be easy to underestimate, even as research increasingly documents microplastics in environments and organisms across the globe, including in remote locations far from any obvious source of pollution.

Roots of the problem

Pellet loss during manufacturing, transport and handling is one significant source – even small spillages, repeated across a global supply chain, add up to substantial quantities reaching the environment. Larger plastic waste that isn't properly collected and recycled is another major contributor, breaking down gradually into ever-smaller fragments once exposed to sunlight, wind and water.

Recycling: a vital tool

Effective recycling is one of the most direct ways to reduce the supply of plastic waste available to fragment into microplastics in the first place. Plastic that is collected, properly sorted and reprocessed into new products doesn't spend years degrading in the open environment. Sorting technologies that maximise recovery rates – such as PICVISA's ECOPACK and ECOFLAKE systems, which separate plastics by polymer type for reprocessing – play a part in keeping more plastic in closed loops rather than the open environment.

Beyond recycling

Recycling alone, however, can't address pellet loss during manufacturing and transport, or the microplastics already present in the environment from decades of accumulated pollution. Tackling those aspects requires improved handling practices across the plastics supply chain, alongside continued research into how to detect, measure and where possible remediate microplastic pollution that has already occurred – a combination of prevention and recovery that mirrors the broader approach needed for plastic waste as a whole.

See how ECOPACK sorts plastics by polymer type