Microplastics – News and Features

Researchers have developed a novel method that uses filter-feeding marine species to collect microplastics from ocean water.

Researchers have developed an innovative way to convert plastics to ingredients for jet fuel and other valuable products, making it easier and more cost effective to reuse plastics.

How dangerous are the smallest of the plastic pollutants, so-called nanoplastics? Are they a ticking time bomb, as alarming media reports suggest? Scientists examine the state of current knowledge – or lack thereof – and points out how these important questions should be addressed.

In this article, we bring together resources from the across the site on gas chromatography, how it works, its pairing with downstream techniques and what its applications are.

A new study by researchers at the Japan Agency for Marine Science and Technology discovered single-use plastics on the ocean floor. Some of the plastics were over 30 years old and had barely degraded.

A new study reveals that there are multiple impacts of different microplastics — with varying sizes, shapes, and chemical makeup — to the survival, growth, and development of larval fathead minnows, an important prey species in lakes and rivers in North America.

Biodegradable plastics have been advertised as one solution to the plastic pollution problem but they don't break down during typical composting. Now, scientists have invented a way to make these compostable plastics break down more easily, with just heat and water, within a few weeks, solving a problem that has flummoxed the plastics industry and environmentalists.

Ocean plastics have been identified as a serious global health issue. Accumulating data on marine plastics, however, is giving us a better appreciation of the challenges and opportunities that exist for harnessing marine microbes capable of biodegrading plastics to help tackle the marine plastic problem.

The full impact that microplastics have on health and the environment is still not well understood, however, mounting evidence regarding their negative effects has made microplastics a topic of interest for scientists, governments and regulatory bodies. We spoke to Kathleen A. Young about microplastics detection techniques and technologies, the importance of standards and how regulations may come to fruition in the years to come.

Researchers have developed a lifetime microplastic exposure model that accounts for variable levels from different sources and in different populations. The new model indicates a lower average mass of microplastic accumulation than previous estimates.