Port Blair, Sept. 13: Internationally renowned Padma Shri awardee scientist Dr Ajai Kumar Sonkar said that the production and consumption of plastic products and the amount of plastic debris are constantly increasing. He informed that Plastic fragments smaller than 5 mm are being found in all environments, and their detectable amount is 690,000 particles/kg and 155,000 particles/ liter in soil and freshwater environments, respectively. Common sources of microplastics in soil include plastic waste, polyethylene-based mulching vinyl used in agriculture, and friction of tire tread and shoe soles. This daily friction is generating a considerable amount of plastic particles, which cannot be ignored. Assuming that every person uses one shoe sole within two years, 2 grams of shoe sole fragments are entering the soil ecosystem annually.