No mountain high enough: Study finds plastic in 'clean' air

Scientists from the French national research institute CNRS sampled air 2,877m above sea level at the Pic du Midi Observatory in the French Pyrenees and found that all samples contained microplastics. Photo: Pascal Pavani/AFP

From Mount Everest to the Mariana Trench, microplastics are everywhere – even high in the Earth's troposphere where wind speeds allow them to travel vast distances, a study showed recently.

Microplastics are tiny fragments – measuring less than 5mm – that come from packaging, clothing, vehicles and other sources and have been detected on land, in water and in the air.