Envirotec Magazine

OCTOBER 5, 2022

Bristol based microplastic technology company Matter is launching Gulp, “the first sustainable, long-lasting washing machine microfibre filter” on Kickstarter from 11 October. and recycling of microplastics, and says it is focused on “cradle-to-cradle solutions”, with a mission to stop microplastic pollution at source.

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Envirotec Magazine

APRIL 14, 2023

By Ria Devereux , PhD Student, Microplastic Pollution, University of East London, writing in The Conversation. At a first glance the COVID-19 pandemic seemed to have a positive impact on the environment, with significant decreases in greenhouse gas emissions, and transport-related noise, air and light pollution.

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Envirotec Magazine

AUGUST 3, 2023

Surface cracks and biofilms on plastic particles might help spread pollution Concerns about microplastic pollution arise not only because of the particles themselves, but also from whatever cargo they might be carrying. Surface features such as holes and biofilms also increase this propensity to collect pollutants.

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Envirotec Magazine

FEBRUARY 22, 2022

The world is producing twice as much plastic waste as two decades ago, with the bulk of it ending up in landfill, incinerated or leaking into the environment, and only 9% successfully recycled, according to a new OECD report. Almost half of all plastic waste is generated in OECD countries, according to the Outlook.

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Envirotec Magazine

JULY 11, 2024

The microplastic pollution that turns up in landfill leachate has received much less attention than the stuff appearing in wastewater, and there seem to be far fewer studies exploring it. According to the OECD, in 2019, 50% of the world’s plastic waste was landfilled, 19% was incinerated, 9% was recycled and 22% was mismanaged.

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Envirotec Magazine

OCTOBER 25, 2022

Microplastics have become so widespread that they have been discovered in fresh Antarctic snow. Something as seemingly innocent as Halloween decorations or gum can be a source, says Sulacpac, a producer of bio-based alternatives for conventional plastics. However, typical plastic waste isn’t the only source of microplastics.

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Inhabitat - Innovation

AUGUST 20, 2020

But a new study of plastic in the Atlantic Ocean reveals the pollution problem is ten times worse than scientists suspected. We knew it was bad.

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Microplastics Plastics Pollution 276

Envirotec Magazine

JUNE 8, 2023

Dr Rosa Busquets is Associate Professor in Analytical Chemistry and Forensics at Kingston University What are microplastics, why are they such a problem and what can be done to reduce the pollution they cause? From studies involving organisms, we know that microplastics can cause inflammation, which is a common step in many diseases.

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GreenBiz

AUGUST 26, 2020

Where there's hope for speeding up business action on plastics. Its landmark report, "The New Plastics Economy," sounded the alarm in 2016 that if "business as usual" continues, by 2025 the ocean may hold more plastic than fish by weight. Only five years ago, few corporate leaders had plastic pollution on their official radar.

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Envirotec Magazine

MAY 30, 2024

Understanding why climate change might contribute to increasing plastic pollution is the focus of a new research project starting this month at the University of Portsmouth. Until now, studies have concentrated solely on microplastics shedding from brand-new plastics.

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Microplastics Climate change Plastics Ocean acidification 147

Envirotec Magazine

MARCH 28, 2024

A research group in Japan has demonstrated that airborne microplastics adsorb to the epicuticular wax on the surface of forest canopy leaves, and that forests may act as terrestrial sinks for airborne microplastics The study used a new technique to measure the levels of microplastics adhering to the leaves.

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Microplastics Plastics Soil Health 147

Envirotec Magazine

NOVEMBER 27, 2020

UK biotech company Toraphene says it is preparing to unveil the world’s first truly biodegradable, compostable and commercially viable alternative to plastic packaging. It’s because they need specific manmade conditions to biodegrade, and many degrade into microplastics, which contaminate our oceans and food chain for centuries”.

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Grist

SEPTEMBER 20, 2024

scientists sounded the alarm on a then-underappreciated problem: the breakdown of plastic litter into small, even microscopic, fragments. While many previous reports had documented the buildup of plastic bottles and bags in the natural environment, much less attention had been paid to what the scientists dubbed “microplastics.”

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Envirotec Magazine

OCTOBER 10, 2022

The government needs to make an immediate decision on banning plastic in wet wipes in order to help tackle this sewage-based pollution ending up in the River Thames, environmental charity Thames21 has urged. Most contain plastic in them and because of this they can cause blockages which back up sewage that spills into the River Thames.

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Envirotec Magazine

AUGUST 22, 2019

Poisonous particle pollution from brake and tyre wear is carried in runoff then enters rivers and streams. It acknowledged that plastic particles from tyres are also deposited into sewers and lead to harmful consequences to marine wildlife and aquatic food chains. They not only pervade the air but also settle on the road surface.

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Envirotec Magazine

MAY 12, 2021

Not only will this allow us to bring our experience in the removal of micro-pollutions and micro-plastic into the UK but also extending it further into the drinking water industry is another milestone in our collaboration.”

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Envirotec Magazine

OCTOBER 21, 2024

A recent paper in PLOS One presents evidence of dolphin inhalation of microplastics. What first drew you to study microplastic inhalation in dolphins, and why did you choose to investigate this topic? Because of this, dolphins are exposed to various harmful chemicals found in the environment, including plastic, which is everywhere.

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Microplastics Plastics Health Transportation 130

Grist

MAY 23, 2024

No human organ is safe from microplastic contamination, it seems — not even the testicles. Researchers at the University of Mexico recently tested 70 samples of testicular tissue — 47 from dogs and 23 from humans — and found microplastics in every single one. So how do the microplastics get into people’s bodies?

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Envirotec Magazine

JUNE 10, 2022

Methods for the analysis of microplastic particles in a sample (of water) are beset by challenges such as high error rates and a high time requirement. The chemical characterization of the microplastic particles is based on their absorption of infrared light. Near-surface analysis.

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Envirotec Magazine

SEPTEMBER 7, 2022

Independently verified research by Swedish water technology firm Bluewater has apparently verified the efficiency of its water purifier technology at removing up to 99.99% of health threatening microplastics and chemicals such as toxic PFAS from tap water.

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Microplastics Plastics Health Pollution 130

Envirotec Magazine

SEPTEMBER 28, 2023

A new study sheds light on the quantity and type of microplastics present in clouds. The researchers analyzed cloud water samples from high-altitude mountains in Japan to ascertain the amount of microplastics in them. Microplastics in the free troposphere are transported and contribute to global pollution,” said Okochi.

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Envirotec Magazine

JULY 27, 2022

A study of 29 European lakes has found that some naturally-occurring lake bacteria grow faster and more efficiently on the remains of plastic bags than on natural matter like leaves and twigs. The bacteria break down the carbon compounds in plastic to use as food for their growth.

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Envirotec Magazine

MAY 2, 2024

The study also found that tyre wear particles significantly outweighed other forms of microplastics, such as plastic fibres and fragments, in the samples collected but that they were also removed in far greater quantities. Easy come, easy go? It was funded by UK National Highways.

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Grist

OCTOBER 17, 2022

When you think of plastic pollution, you might imagine ocean “ garbage patches ” swirling with tens of millions of plastic bottles and shopping bags. But unfolding alongside the “macroplastic” pollution crisis is another threat caused by much smaller particles: microplastics. So where do microplastics come in?

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Envirotec Magazine

NOVEMBER 28, 2024

Ocean microplastic concentrations from water samples captured by sailors during The Ocean Race 2022-23 Three of the world’s top five hotspots for marine microplastic pollution are in Europe, according to new data collected by sailors and teams competing in The Ocean Race. Microplastics captured ranged from 0.03

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Envirotec Magazine

JANUARY 9, 2024

The research has developed a sustainability metric for the ecological design of plastic products, like cup-lids, recognizing and quantifying their propensity to break-down more quickly in the environment (image credit: Bryan James/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution).

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Plastics Pollution Sustainability Microplastics 162

Planet Pulse

OCTOBER 27, 2020

New research combining Planet’s high cadence satellite imagery and other innovative technologies has successfully found the sources and pathways of plastic pollution in the Caribbean Sea. A boom is filled with plastic, and yet was only able to collect small amounts of it due to much of the debris passing it by. km2 to 0.77km2.

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Plastics Energy Monitor Microplastics Building Energy Monitoring 124

Green Living Guy

JUNE 7, 2022

Microplastics are a pathway for pathogens on land to reach the ocean. The study, published today in the journal Scientific Reports, is the first to connect microplastics in the ocean with land-based pathogens. It can lead to consequences for human and wildlife health, according to a study from the University of California, Davis.

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Grist

JANUARY 9, 2024

At this point, it’s common knowledge that bottled water contains microplastics — fragments of the insidious material that can be as small as a bacterial cell. Then it was a simple matter of counting all the different particles of plastic. Plastic bottles in a supermarket. I don’t want a plasticized world,” she said. “We

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Plastics Microplastics Health Pollution 145

Envirotec Magazine

JANUARY 16, 2023

Microplastics are everywhere: We know that much. Even the definition of “microplastics” is slippery. But tiny plastic fragments follow a multitude of pathways into the enviroment. And not all rivers carry the same load of microplastics. But should we be worried? What can we do about it? Is that an argument to do nothing?”

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DeSmogBlog

MARCH 9, 2021

Read time: 8 mins You won’t find an ethane cracker or industrial plastics manufacturing equipment on tiny Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina. The bits were newly manufactured pieces of plastic resin, known as nurdles, which pose hazards to wildlife and contaminate the environment as they breakdown into microplastics. The tiny 2.5

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Plastics Microplastics Pollution 122

Envirotec Magazine

APRIL 8, 2022

A new report attempts to provide a diagnostic of the scale of the ocean pollution challenge facing humanity. The Invisible Wave: Getting to zero chemical pollution in the ocean has been prodeuced by Back to Blue, an initiative of Economist Impact and The Nippon Foundation.

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The City Fix

JUNE 8, 2023

“Plastic kills, and the damages of plastic pollution have no borders. We cannot beat plastic pollution if we don’t tackle climate change, environmental loss and food crises at the same time.” That was the powerful message Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo.

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Business Green

APRIL 7, 2022

Consumer goods giants continue to face growing scrutiny over their reliance on plastics in their packaging, with fresh research published yesterday having found microplastics in products manufactured by almost 90 per cent of the top-selling cosmetics brands. What we do know is that these products, used day-in day-out, contain plastic.

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Envirotec Magazine

APRIL 30, 2021

Artist Maarten Vanden Eynde discusses microplastics and nanoplastics, and the challenge they present with ocean pollution, at a 2017 event, Biotalk (image credit: FotoMediamatic , CC BY-NC 2.0 “We’re looking at developing a filter that can be more efficient at removing these plastics,” Chowdhury said.

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Business Green

APRIL 11, 2021

With funding from the plastic bag charge Waitrose launched a £1m grant fund for innovative plastic-waste busting ideas - Hubbub's Trewin Restorick sets out the key achievements. There is increased interest in nature-based solutions for tackling pollution and two projects explored this route. Five key themes have emerged: 1.

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Grist

AUGUST 27, 2019

And so every time he takes the sailboat out to open water, whether he’s hanging out with friends or instructing students, he keeps an eye open for any plastic debris. The group started the crusade, called Operation Plastic Pollution Purge, last year. They also need to keep the ocean as clean as possible.

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