At first glance, the tiny plastic pellets appear relatively harmless. No bigger than a lentil, these "nurdles" are destined to be melted down to make everything from car bumpers to salad bowls.
But when tens of millions of them spill from trucks or cargo ships they are devilish to clean up, blighting landscapes and washing up around the world for years to come.
On Thursday, the European Parliament could approve tougher new rules aimed at preventing such disastrous spills, and reducing their pollution impact.
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If approved, they will require companies in the European Union to adopt safeguards in handling and transporting nurdles, which are produced by petrochemical giants from fossil fuels.
Anywhere between 52,140 tonnes and 184,290 tonnes of pellets entered the environment in the EU in 2019, according to the European Commission, which proposed the regulations.
"This is equivalent to between 2,100 and 7,300 trucks full of pellets per year," the Commission said.
Light, buoyant and insoluble, these tiny pellets present an almost insurmountable challenge once scattered in nature.
Recovery is "a physically intense and time-consuming task" mostly done by hand, said Kevin Tallec from Cedre, a French non-profit organisation that specialises in water contamination and cleanup.
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