California on Wednesday became the first state to adopt a comprehensive strategy for the reduction of microplastics, part of a broad effort to protect the state’s marine environment. The Statewide Microplastics Strategy , approved by the California Ocean Protection Council (OPC) on Wednesday afternoon, identifies preventative actions and research priorities that the state can take to help curb microplastics along its coasts, according to the council. The OPC, an advisory body within the California Natural Resources Agency, was established by the California Ocean Protection Act in 2004 to ensure that the state maintains a healthy and resilient ocean environment. “Microplastics are poisoning the ocean, both across the planet and off the California coast,” California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot said in a statement. ADVERTISEMENT About 11 million metric tons of plastic enter the planet’s oceans each year — an amount that is expected to triple by 2040, according to the OPC. Eventually, plastics can break down into tiny pieces dubbed microplastics — those less than 5 millimeters in size — which are easily ingested by marine life and lead to impaired growth and reproductive complications. Far from “only a marine pollution problem,” microplastics have also been found in human placenta, stool samples and…