Effects of Micro- and Nano-plastics Wastes on Human Health

Every element of daily life, such as technology, health and therapeutics, as well as household items, is impacted by the plastics. After its single use, most of the people discard the majority of these used plastics, which would cause serious major environmental threat. The breakdown of these plastics in such a large number from micro-to-nanosizes has raised much concern about how hazardous these plastics are to the environment and the individuals. Although a number of researchers have been published extensively on the environmental implications of micro and nano-plastics, there has been little research on their effects on human health at the sub-cellular or molecular level. This chapter deals with the manufacturing of plastics, their behaviour, degradation, levels of toxicity and pollution in the environment, and the possible health impacts on humans, especially in the days of Covid-19 and provide possible solutions to this ever increasing plastics wastes mitigation. We will discuss on the impact of these micro- and nano-plastics on human health such as central nervous system, kidney, digestive and excretory system; respiratory system; placental barrier; skin, etc. This chapter will also discuss about the plastics wastes generated from the pandemic that the world is facing today.