polyethylene

noun

1. (countable, uncountable)A polymer consisting of many ethylene monomers bonded together; used for kitchenware, containers etc.

   “For eons, the debris has contained the same things — flecks from plant and animal carcasses, feces, mucus, dust, microbes, viruses — and transported the ocean’s carbon to be stored on the seafloor. Increasingly, however, marine snowfall is being infiltrated by microplastics: fibers and fragments of polyamide, polyethylene and polyethylene terephthalate. And this fauxfall appears to be altering our planet’s ancient cooling process.”

   “The most abundant chemical in the plastics is polyethylene, which is used for single-use packaging, plastic bags and containers such as bottles.”