Even TV ads playing during the Olympics referenced plastic ending up in the ocean. So the word is clearly out, that plastics get loose in the environment and create problems for many creatures.
The concern extends to fresh water as well; teams at the Tahoe Environmental Research Center of the University of California-Davis have been looking for, and finding, microplastics in Lake Tahoe. Microplastics are present in the water and in the sand on the beaches of the big lake.
JPR News Intern Sophia Prince talked to Katie Senft from TERC about the overall issue of microplastics, and how common they are in many environments.