Some plastics are already microscopic when they enter the ocean. Nurdles are used to make larger plastic objects, and can be smaller than peas! Some of these plastic building blocks make their way into the ocean, in factory waste or containers that have fallen off ships transporting plastic around the world.
Similarly small are microbeads, which are part of some face scrubs. These tiny plastic pellets wash down the drain and can reach the ocean if they are not filtered out of our waste water.
Plastic nurdles are used in the production of plastic products. Source: Marine Science Centre
Millions of plastic nurdles washed ashore. Source: Journey to the plastic ocean