Plastic debris is a prominent form of marine pollution, which is exacerbated with time. Microplastics (millimetre-sized plastics) in particular are abundant in bodies of water globally. The relatively small size of microplastics enables them to be confused for prey by planktonic and benthic organisms. Currently, little is known about the environmental association of microplastics with zooplankton communities. The biomass of plankton in water samples impedes the ability to identify microplastic abundances. Methods to extract microplastics from marine samples and tissue are inconsistent and not easily replicable. This study compares five chemical digestion methods (SDS and H2O2; KOH; HNO3; NaOH, and enzymatic, both sourced from drain cleaners), on the effectiveness of digesting zooplankton (comparing three densities; high, medium, low), and the impact to microplastic polymers (polypropylene, polyester, polyethylene, polystyrene, and polyamide – the most common in marine environments). The aim is to quantify an appropriate method to extract microplastics from dense zooplankton samples while mitigating the damage to plastic polymers. The optimal method can additionally be utilised to determine quantities of microplastics consumed by zooplankton communities and aid in the assessment of microplastic abundances in oceans. The pervasiveness of microplastic contamination has highlighted the need for globally comparable and replicable methods.