An international study of airborne plastic particles has found that microplastic pollution is now spiralling around the globe, resulting in the 'plastification' of the planet.

It calls plastic pollution one of the most pressing environmental issues of the 21st century.

The study found that billions of tonnes of plastic discarded into the oceans and land is being broken down into microplastics and thrown back into the air by road traffic and winds over seas and farmland.

Dr Mark Browne from the University of NSW completed the world's first PhD on microplastic and since then, some of his findings have shown that shores in Oceania, Asia, Africa, Europe, and North and South America are contaminated with microplastic, with more material in densely populated areas.

The source is sewage, wind and stormwater contaminated by synthetic fibres from wearing and washing clothes.

Washing a single garment adds millions of fibres to wastewater and using facial scrubbers can add millions of granules of microplastic to wastewater.

What can be done to combat the problems of microplastic? Do companies need to do more to control their emissions of microplastics?