The eco guide to microplastics

Seafood eaters consume up to 11,000 tiny pieces of plastic a year. Scary, isn't it?

I'm officially declaring this the Summer of Plastic. With the rising tide of plastic waste - 38.5 million plastic bottles a day in the UK alone and production set to quadruple by 2050 - the plastic pollution crisis in our oceans has become the breakout issue.

Activists are stepping it up from quiet beach cleans to strident zero-tolerance campaigns. In terms of severity, Surfers Against Sewage (sas.org.uk) rates plastic pollution up there with climate change. Its campaign, Wasteland, urges us to boycott throwaway plastics now. Meanwhile, Greenpeace continues to hound soft-drinks brands, mapping their alarming use of plastic and abject failure to take responsibility.