Microplastic beads and fragments collected in 11 western national parks and wilderness areas over 14 months of sampling are seen through a microscope. Image: Janice Brahney, Utah State University

‘Plastic Rain’ Litters Remote Western Wilderness

Researchers are shocked at the volume of tiny bits and beads falling from the sky like dust and rain

There was a backwoods saying I heard as a kid, a sad joke about the human propensity to litter even remote locations: No matter where you go, a beer can will beat you there. Add airborne plastic bits to that list.