It's sparkly, it's sticky, it spreads everywhere, and it's the bane of clean-up squads at every festival and children's party.

But now there are calls from scientists and environmentalists across the globe to ban glitter, because the shimmery particles do not break down and can be digested by animals, making its way into the food chain.

Most glitter is made with plastic, and when it drifts into a landfill or down a drain, it can become a microplastic pollutant. Credit:Katherine Griffiths

Dr Trisia Farrelly, a senior lecturer and environmental anthropologist at Massey University, told The Independent, "I think all glitter should be banned, because it's microplastic."

Microplastics are bits of plastic debris that are less than five millimetres in length with glitter just one of many products that falls into this category.