Microplastics are tiny pieces of plastic waste. Areas of the ocean with higher concentrations of microplastic particles also have smaller and fewer waves. A study by Yukun Sun and colleagues found that the concentration of microplastic particles cannot be the only reason for this reduced wave activity because the concentration of particles that would have the observed effect is much higher than that found in these areas of the ocean. However, they found that surfactants, chemicals often used to manufacture plastics, are released into the water from microplastics and have a much stronger wave-reducing effect.