Doesn't take an expert to see that fatty acids and hydrocarbon chains from the degradation of polyethylene look nearly the same.

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refulgentis 41 minutes ago | parent [-]

Not sure what you mean or how it’s related. If the idea is microplastics aren’t actually a problem, I’m totally open to that. But “it’s possible everyone involved is overrating it due to scientists seeing fatty acids or hydrocarbons and calling it plastic” needs a little more than anon assertion :)

	▲	userbinator 19 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		PE consists of very long hydrocarbon chains. It can degrade into shorter hydrocarbon chains. Fatty acids also have long hydrocarbon chains. The detection method for microplastics commonly involves pyrolysis, which breaks down polymers into smaller molecules. It's not hard to see that they'll end up looking nearly the same.