Microplastics – News and Features

A new model tracking the vertical movement of algae-covered microplastic particles offers hope in the fight against plastic waste in our oceans.

Food contamination is not a new issue; this is why food producers take care to perform risk assessments and to keep their operations as hygienic as possible. But in recent years, the rise of a new class of contaminants has become a major concern.

Scientists have developed an innovative way to use NASA satellite data to track the movement of tiny pieces of plastic in the ocean.

Researchers have created a plant-based, sustainable, scalable material that could replace single-use plastics in many consumer products.

Researchers have developed self-propelled microrobots that can swim, attach to plastics and break them down.

Research has found that plastic waste has been accumulating in salt marshes for decades.

Research shows that the exposure of oysters to nanoplastics and arsenic, one of the most common metals absorbed by the plastic debris, could affect their biological functions.

Researchers report that stormwater can be a large source of microplastics and rubber fragments to water bodies and, with a proof-of-concept experiment, show that a rain garden could keep these microscopic pieces out of a storm drain.

Scientists have got up close and personal with human sewage to determine how best to measure hidden and potentially dangerous plastics.

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