A new study by Indonesia’s National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) found that rainwater in Jakarta carries microplastics and other potentially toxic particles. In coastal areas, about 15 microplastic particles fall on each square metre every day. For an average 100-square-metre house, that means around 1,500 particles raining down daily – a clear sign of how deeply plastic pollution is tied to urban environment.
The sources are all around us. Fibres from clothing, polymers from tyres and fragments from degraded plastics float through the atmosphere before landing in water, soil and ultimately the human food chain. Research across Metro Manila and other cities shows airborne microplastics are widespread, with polyester dominating and hot, dry conditions keeping particles in the air. Rain and humidity help clear them, but exposure is nearly unavoidable.
People are taking in far more plastic than many realise. Studies suggest people could be consuming up to five grams of plastic every week – the equivalent of a credit card – or roughly 100,000 microplastic particles annually. From seafood and shellfish to beer, salt, vegetables and dairy, plastics have woven themselves into daily diets, raising urgent questions about the public health impacts of this invisible, pervasive contamination.
From the rain that falls over Jakarta to the food on our plates, microplastics have become an inescapable part of daily life. Eco-Business highlights some of the most shocking places these tiny particles were found in 2025, revealing just how deeply plastic pollution has spread through humans, wildlife and the environment.
Microplastics have been detected in Metro Manila’s air, with a first-of-its-kind study by Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology finding the highest concentrations in Mandaluyong and Muntinlupa after sampling 864 cubic metres of ambient air across 17 cities. Image: USAID Urban, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Flickr.
Bees and pollinators
Tiny plastic particles are infiltrating honey bees, essential pollinators for crops and ecosystems. In 2025, researchers found synthetic polyethylene terephthalate (PET) material in hundreds of European hives tested – coating bees, contaminating nectar and clogging the insect’s digestive tracts.
The microplastics have caused damage to bees’ gut tissues, immune disruption and impaired learning – resulting in reduced foraging and pollinating efficiency. Experiments show that polystyrene and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) negatively affect the survival and chemical signalling of bees. Hive guards fail to detect contaminated foragers, allowing plastics to spread.
Even wild bees incorporate plastic fibres into nests, suggesting contamination may now also threaten future generations of pollinators. Honey – traditionally considered a pure and natural substance – has also become an unexpected reservoir for microplastic contamination, both from packaging transference and bee contamination.
Human reproductive fluids
Research presented at the 2025 European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology detected plastics in 55 per cent of semen samples and 69 per cent of follicular fluid specimens. One of the most common materials were polystyrene and polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which accounted for over 30 per cent of the particles identified.
Higher levels of exposure were linked to poorer sperm quality, including lower sperm counts, reduced motility and abnormal shape. A seprate study published in the Journal of Nanobiotechnology found that men who regularly use plastic cutlery and tableware have a higher accumulation of microplastics in their semen, which is linked to lower sperm count.
Microplastics have been detected in both wild and domesticated animals. Image: Santanu Sen, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Flickr.
The organs that support pregnancy in humans and animals
Exposure begins before birth. Studies in 2025 found microplastics in every human placenta tested – the organ that supplies oxygen and nutrients to a developing fetus during pregnancy.
Levels were more than 50 per cent higher in placentas from preterm births, meaning babies born too early. The most common plastics were polyethylene, widely used in packaging and plastic bags, which made up 54 per cent of the particles, and PVC, used in pipes and consumer products, which accounted for about 10 per cent.
These particles can build up in placental tissue and trigger inflammation, an immune response that is known to increase the risk of premature labour. Animal studies provide further clues. Experiments in mice show that “photoaged” plastics – plastics broken down by sunlight into smaller, more reactive fragments – can damage the placental labyrinth, the network of blood vessels that allows nutrients and oxygen to pass from mother to fetus. This damage was linked to impaired fetal growth.
Together, the findings suggest that microplastics may affect development well before birth.
Discarded synthetic fishing line is seen entangled on a coral, trapping a nudibranch and highlighting the threat of marine plastic pollution to reef life. Image: John Turnbull, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Flickr.
The world’s deep sea
Meanwhile, the reach of microplastics extends to the ocean’s depths. Synthetic fibres have been detected 5,000 metres down in the Central Indian Ocean Basin, averaging seven particles per gram of sediment. Currents and gravity-driven flows transport hundreds of millions of plastics annually, accumulating in habitats crucial for corals, sponges and suspension feeders. With 99 per cent of ocean plastics hidden below the surface, these remote ecosystems reveal just how far human pollution has spread.
Unborn wild and domesticated animals
Studies in 2025 found microplastics in fetal tissues and placentas of cats, seals and dolphins, with thousands of particles detected in some cases. Newborn dolphins already carry plastics in their stomachs and first stools, showing that contamination reaches the earliest stages of life. This pervasive exposure raises pressing concerns for reproductive health, early development and wildlife survival across terrestrial and marine species.
A plastic cup hangs from a mangrove tree after being carried in by the high tide, underscoring how marine debris infiltrates coastal ecosystems. Image: UNEP, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Flickr.
Endangered wildlife
The contamination also affects some of the planet’s most vulnerable animals. Red howler monkeys in the Amazon, 60 per cent of fish species in Brazil’s protected areas and bottlenose and Indus River dolphins all show evidence of microplastic ingestion. Even animals at the top of the food chain are affected, highlighting the wide-reaching ecological consequences and potential threats to reproduction, respiration and overall ecosystem health.
Lobster meat and seafood
Humans face direct exposure through what ends up on our plates. Lobsters off Nova Scotia contained six to seven particles per gram of meat, while US studies found plastics in 99 per cent of seafood samples, including shrimp, salmon and herring. Predominant polymers include polyethylene vinyl acetate, polyester and polysulfone – tracing back to clothing, packaging and industrial sources. With plastics carrying toxic chemicals, the contamination underscores risks to nutrition, food safety and marine wildlife alike.
Vegetables and dairy
The problem extends to foods once considered safe. Nanoplastics as small as one millionth of a centimetre can penetrate radishes, accumulating in edible roots and leaves. In Italy, 26 of 28 dairy products contained microplastics, with ripened cheese holding 1,857 particles per kilogram, fresh cheese 1,280 and milk 350. PET, polyethylene, and polypropylene dominate, emphasising that plastic contamination is now woven into daily diets far beyond seafood, water, or air.
United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) researchers define microplastics as plastic particles ranging from 5 millimetres – about the size of a pencil eraser – to 1 nanometre, far smaller than a human hair, which is roughly 80,000 nanometres wide. Image: Oregon State University, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Flickr.
Human bones
Microplastics are also now found deep within human bones. A 2025 review of 62 studies reports particles in bone, cartilage and marrow – disrupting stem cells, promoting inflammation and accelerating cellular ageing. This exposure reportedly shifts the balance in the production of osteoclasts – cells that break down bone – weakening the skeleton and increasing fracture risk. With osteoporosis-related fractures projected to rise 32 per cent by 2050, environmental plastics may compound age- and hormone-related skeletal decline.
Human brain tissue
The infiltration reaches the brain, where postmortem analyses from 1997 to 2024 found up to seven grams of micro- and nanoplastics – roughly the weight of a plastic spoon. Concentrations rose roughly 50 per cent over eight years, surpassing levels in liver or kidney tissue. Individuals with dementia showed higher loads, though causality remains unproven. Particles lodge in cerebrovascular walls and immune cells, raising concerns over neurological health and the urgent need to understand how plastics accumulate and affect human tissues.
This story is part of Eco-Business’ Year in Review series, which looks back at the stories that shaped sustainability in 2025.
