Derived from fossil fuels, plastics are built to last, and they are being ingested in microplastic form at almost every level of the food chain, including by humans. With science journalist and codirector Ziya Tong acting as a globe-trotting guide, Plastic People is an efficient and emotional chronicle of the unchecked, exponential growth of the industry over time. Scientists share groundbreaking research, revealing its impact on a global (climate change), geopolitical (waste colonialism), and personal (reproductive health) scale. “One of those essential state-of-our-world documentaries” (Owen Gleiberman, Variety).