Many people are aware of the detrimental effects of plastic pollution on the environment, such as altering ecosystems, contaminating groundwater, and harming marine life. What many people may not be aware of is the existence of microplastics, the ways they are dispersed into the environment, and the effects they have. This includes the ingestion of microplastics by wildlife, pollution to waterways, and the increase in ecotoxicity to the environment.  By expanding and studying how people perceive their behaviors relating to microplastic pollution and the activities that contribute to it can provide insightful information on how this type of pollution is viewed. The purpose of this study is to investigate these human behavior and perception dimensions and how they interact with the issue of microplastic pollution.

Microplastics are defined as pieces of plastic that are less than five millimeters in length and can come from various sources, categorized into primary and secondary microplastics. Primary sources are plastic particles intentionally made to be that small. Secondary microplastics are larger pieces of plastic that break down into microplastics. 

Microplastics commonly make their way into the environment through wastewater, and once in the environment, can cause a variety of environmental and health hazards. These include:

1. Ingestion of microplastics by wildlife, leading to bioaccumulation. Bioaccumulation is the process in which chemicals or other substances build up in an organism’s tissues over time.

2. Harm to human health through ingestion of contaminated fish. These harms can include abnormal reproduction, metabolic disorders, and developmental abnormalities.  

3. Pollution of waterways.

4. Increase in ecotoxicity of the environment.  Ecotoxicity is the potential negative effect of a chemical to organisms and the environment. 

There are several different ways to combat the issue of microplastic pollution including:

1. Educating people on how microplastics enter the environment and their harm.

2. Identifying responsibilities of state and municipal corporations in disposing of plastic waste.

3. Improving microplastic removal in wastewater and sewage treatment plants.

College students have the potential to be large contributors to microplastic pollution due some behaviors they take part in, such as the fast fashion and textile consumption they engage in. In a study by Choudhary (2022), it was found that the age group of 18-25 years old had the highest percentage of purchasing frequency of all the age groups. The age group of 18-25 is made up of many college students. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 39% of 18-24 year olds were enrolled in college in 2022 (National Center for Education Statistics, 2024). This means that a notable portion of textile consumption is by college students. Materials used in fast fashion are for the most part synthetic materials such as rayon, polyester, and nylon, which are derived from petroleum and are used because they are cheap to produce. The harm of this is that they shed microplastics as they are produced and as they are washed. The process of textile production and washing clothes makes up more than a third of all microplastic pollution. 

However, it has been shown that as more opportunities for pro-environmental behavior improve, people are more likely to engage in those behaviors. Adding recycling bins alongside trash bins that are picked up on the same day has been shown to increase recycling (Byerly, et al., 2018). In addition to this, it has been shown that increasing education about recycling has also increased recycling. This demonstrates that people are willing to take part in pro-environmental behavior if it is accessible to it and they are aware of it, which can be applied to the issue of microplastics as well.  

Narrowing in on specifically how microplastics are thought of can provide important results, especially because this type of pollution can cause specifically detrimental effects to the environment. This leads to my research question: how do college students in West Michigan perceive their behavior relating to the effects of microplastics on the environment? How do they perceive their contribution to the problem of microplastic pollution? Researching how college students behave and how their behaviors would change if they knew more about microplastics would create a better understanding of the perception of microplastics.