A new animation has highlighted how The University of Manchester's research on microplastic pollution in rivers has helped to drive investigations into the behaviour of water companies, and the roles of regulators in tacking illegal activity.

After being the first to demonstrate high levels of microplastic contamination on the UK's river beds, researchers from the University's Department of Geography discovered that water companies themselves are the cause of this contamination, releasing wastewater during periods of dry weather into river flows that are too sluggish to disperse microplastics downstream.

Watch the animation here: