In fact, a new study reveals that microplastics have even polluted Alpine snow and Arctic ice . The implications of these discoveries are huge, since obviously, not many people are throwing glitter and using body scrub at two of the most remote places on Earth.

How did the microplastics get there? The study, published this week in the journal Science Advances, posits that the tiny particles become airborne and, when swept up into the Earth's atmosphere, can be transported virtually around the globe.

Researchers tested several samples from ice floes in the Arctic region, as well as snow samples from more urban places across Europe. Microplastics were present in all the samples in Europe and in all but one Arctic sample.

Although this alone is bad news for the environment, the way in which microplastics, or MPs, are delivered to such remote areas has other dangerous implications.

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