Vikas Menon ¹ SWATI SHARMA ^2* Deepak Sharma ³ Shreya Gupta ⁴

• ¹ College of Technology, Chandigarh Group of Colleges, Mohali, Punjab, India
• ² Chandigarh University, Mohali, India
• ³ Chandigarh College of Technology, Landran, Punjab, India
• ⁴ Institute of Biotechnology, Chandigarh University, Mohali, Punjab, India

Plastic has become an unavoidable part of human civilization, leading to their increased accumulation in the environment. The accumulation of plastic and its small fragments (micro and nano plastics) has considerably increased after COVID-19. These micro and nano fragments of plastics interact with terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems have become a global concern in the past decade due to their persistence and potential threat to every compartment of the environment.These micro and nano plastics are non-biodegradable, non-biocompatible, and have ecotoxicological hazards. Hence, to effectively mitigate and control the prevalence of these plastic particles, it is necessary to understand the pathways by which these enter the ecosystem and their transportation among various ecosystems. Thus, to mitigate the harmful effects of micro-and nanoplastics on ecosystems and living organisms, coordinated efforts in research, regulation, and mitigation techniques are needed against growing amount of microplastics and nanoplastics (MNPs). The effective management and mitigation strategies are often relied on a thorough understanding of the pathways through which MNPs enter the soil, surface water, and groundwater ecosystems, as well as an assessment of their impact and an exploration of potential future scenarios. Therefore, the present study presents a comprehensive information on the fate and transport pathways of MNPs in the environment. The review article provides imperative information on formation process of these plastic particles, passaging of these plastics through environmental niches (soil, surface water, and groundwater), and eventually their entry into food chains.