Microplastics are plastic particles less than 5mm in length. They can be pieces that break off of larger chunks of plastics or small beads of plastic used in products like face wash and toothpaste. When microplastics break off of larger pieces they easily make it into our waterways and even our air.

Microplastics have been found in the deepest trenches of the ocean and on the peaks of Everest. Scientists have found microplastics in our brain, blood, heart, and even placenta.

More than ever it’s important to avoid and eliminate microplastic pollution where possible. Here are 5 ways.

1. Choose Natural Fibers

When shopping for clothes, sheets, and towels, choose natural fibers. When we wash our clothes, fibers shed from the material and wash into our waterways. It’s estimated that a single load of laundry can release 700,000 microfibers into our waterways.

The natural fibers will degrade over time but the synthetic fibers just add more plastic into our water ways. Synthetic fibers are usually petroleum-based and are essentially plastic. Synthetic fibers include polyester, nylon, and acrylic. Natural fibers include:

• cotton
• wool
• silk
• linen
• hemp
• rayon
• viscose
• bamboo
• lyocell
• modal

2. Wash Clothes Less

For all the synthetic fiber clothes or linens you already own, try to wash them less. We get into habits, go on auto-pilot and stop thinking about things. We automatically wash clothes after every wear but is that necessary? After wearing an item, do the smell test. If it smells questionable, then put it in the hamper. If it doesn’t, hang it back up!

3. Stop Using Glitter

Yes, I’m sorry crafty readers, glitter is plastic. I’m not a fan of glitter–even before going plastic-free. It gets EVERYWHERE and is hard to clean up. Please, do not send me greetings cards with glitter. Just saying.

4. Don’t Release Balloons or Avoid Them All Together

There are plenty of ways to celebrate without balloon releases and balloons in general. Released ballots oftentimes end up in the ocean where animals mistaken them for food. In many jurisdictions it is illegal to release mylar balloons since they can get caught in power lines and cause outages.

Instead of balloons, use streamers or even reusable balloons for a festive atmosphere. Especially for water balloons, try the reusable version so the scraps don’t litter the park or someone’s lawn.

5. Refuse Single-Use Beverage Bottles

A study measuring microplastics from bottled and tap water from countries around the world found that bottled water had up to 7 times as many microplastic particles in a sample! It might be convenient to grab a bottle on the go but at the cost of ingesting extra microplastics, it’s not worth it!

Get in the habit of bringing a reusable water bottle with you, or find a bottle of glass water at your local store.

The more we can make small steps towards reducing microplastic pollution, the better off our waterways will be!

What do you think? Can you start doing some or all of these today?

For related and random posts, check out:

• 7 Common Foods That Contain Microplastics
• 10 Easy Plastic-Free Kitchen Swaps