Our Story

The problem of microplastics

For our Outdoor Ed trip this year, we both went on a sailboat that toured the water around Catalina Island. While on this trip, we did a variety of science explorations related to the ocean. The crew showed us some plastic pellets and plastic waste they had collected from dropping a net through the ocean and told us about the issue of microplastics which are tiny plastic particles that are smaller than 5 mm in size. After hearing about this during our trip, we looked up microplastics online one day together, both still feeling curious about what we had heard from the crew. We quickly realized that so many products we use on a daily basis are released into the ocean, our bodies, other animals and the environment in a variety of ways. Most synthetic textiles have microplastics in them so when we wash our clothing, microplastics get released in the laundry which then gets into the ocean. Microplastics are present in lots of cosmetic products, paint, and are even being found in fast food! Inspired by these issues, our research project is meant to help us explore the composition of plastics present in microplastics so we can see what and how microplastics are affecting the human body.