Fewer worms live in mud littered with lots of microplastics

Scientists tracked how animals fared in the polluted sediment for over a year

microplastic contamination

A new experiment on freshwater critters living in sediment with different amounts of microplastic contamination (pictured) shows that worms don’t do well amidst many tiny bits of plastic.

B. Koelmans

Despite growing concerns over tiny bits of plastic filling the world’s waterways, the long-term environmental effects of that debris remain murky.