As per researchers they were not aware of the effects that plastic microbeads, found in toothpaste and exfoliants, have on microscopic marine life. But they said a video by a team of filmmakers led by Verity White of Five Films has helped them know that those microbeads are ingested by zooplankton along with their diet of phytoplankton.

The video captured is part of a short film made by Norwegian filmmaker Ren Kyst about litter and coastal cleanups. The video even won Atkins CIWEM Environmental Film of the Year from the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management in the UK.

The Plymouth Marine Laboratory in Plymouth, England is studying the impact these microplastics have on marine life, with a particular focus on zooplankton.

According to a study conducted by researchers at the UC Santa Barbara National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, an estimated 8 million metric tons of plastic gets drained into the oceans every year.

Findings of the study published in the journal Science early this year showed that between 6,350 and 245,000 metric tons of the plastic is floating, which means that the rest of it goes somewhere below the surface.

Researchers said the plastic found floating and below the surface does not comprise wholly of plastic bottles, six-pack rings and fishing nets. They said a lot of plastic that ends up in the ocean comes from the plastic microbeads found in body wash and other personal care products.

Degradation of other plastic happens very quickly, eroding into very small fragments. Researchers found that the plastics cause the death of over a million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals every year.