Krill could prove secret weapon in plastics battle

Sydney : They might be at the bottom of the food chain, but krill could prove to be a secret weapon in the fight against the growing threat of plastic pollution in the world’s oceans.

New research yesterday showed the tiny zooplankton are capable of digesting microplastics -- under five millimetres (0.2 inches) -- before excreting them back into the environment in an even smaller form.

Study author Amanda Dawson stumbled on the finding while working on a project involving microbeads -- polyethylene plastic often used in cosmetics such as face scrubs -- at the Australian Antarctic Division’s krill aquarium to check the toxic effects of pollution.

“We realised that krill actually break up plastic, it was amazing,” the researcher from Australia’s Griffith University told AFP.

The problem of plastic pollution is widespread, and rapidly getting worse.