While industries peddle dreams of a circular economy, the impacts of toxic plastic pollution are borne by the most vulnerable communities.

Researchers observed that while nanoplastic particles -- omnipresent in nature and the food web -- didn’t kill organ cells entirely, they disrupted major metabolic functions.

The finding is a reminder of how disruptive the pandemic has been to nature, and how the threat to the ecosystem continues to loom large.

“....with the modern lifestyle, babies are exposed to so many different things... we don’t know what kind of effect they can have later.”

Ingestion of plastic can severely impact the health of marine animals, and includes exposing them to cancer risk.

"Using microbes to turn waste plastics... into an important commodity... is a beautiful demonstration of green chemistry."

The resulting single-use plastic waste will "end up as pollution in developing countries with poor waste management system.”

Research suggests that paper requires more energy and greenhouse gas emissions to produce than plastic.

The findings underscore just how drastically the world's largest food conglomerates could reduce pollution with changes to packaging.

79% has of plastic waste has ended up in landfills, dumps, or the natural environment, causing significant damage to soil-dwelling species.

Nanoplastics are easily absorbed by plants, which leads to stunted plant growth, low nutritional value, and health concerns for the whoever consumes the plants.

As many as 136,000 tons of microplastic could be blown ashore every year with sea breeze, scientists said.