Context

• The proportion of microplastics, miniscule pieces of plastic waste that are less than 5 millimetres long, has increased dramatically in the island country of the Maldives in the Indian Ocean.

Key Details

• Scientists from the university found plastic pollution in sand on 22 sites across Naifaru, the most populous island in the Maldives.
• The microplastics were being transported by ocean countries from neighbouring countries like India or were getting concentrated due to the Maldives’ own flawed policies regarding waste like using uninhabited islands as landfills, the study added.

Back to Basics

• Naifaru is an island in the Maldives north of the capital, Malé.
• It is the capital and most populous island of Lhaviyani Atoll.