Much discarded plastic enters our oceans via pathways such as littering, drainage, sewage systems, and mismanaged disposal, and fragments to form ‘microplastics’ — particles of under 5 millimetres (mm) in size. A study assesses the distribution, variation, composition, concentration and sources of microplastics in the German Bight. It finds different types of microplastics in coastal, central and estuarine areas, and suggests that antifouling coatings on ships are a prominent, but underestimated, source of microplastic pollution in the area. Click here to read more