I was born with a plastic spoon in my mouth

Abstract

Derived from oil processing, plastics have seen their production grow rapidly. Plastics resist chemical and biological aggression, in other words, they have limited degradability. This characteristic, combined with the ease of processing and multi-purpose adaptability that stimulate their production and use, has led to accumulations of plastics in all environments and at all size scales, not excluding the internal environment of organisms. Due to the accumulation effect that characterises all poorly degradable substances, the presence of plastics in the tissues of living systems increases with trophic level and is also becoming a concern for our species.