Scientists from Bangor University have discovered that microplastics (the tiny fragments shed by wet wipes, plastic packaging and other materials) can pick up viruses and bacteria as they pass through sewage treatment and carry them into rivers and coastal waters.

The research team, as part of the BlueAdapt project, followed microplastics from hospital sewage all the way through treatment works and out to sea. The results found that particles can act as a kind of raft for harmful microbes, shielding them from the environment and helping them to survive.