article thumbnail

Study maps human uptake of microplastics across 109 countries

Envirotec Magazine

Indonesians eat more microplastics per month than any other country, said the study, with most of it coming from seafood (image credit: raulbaldean / Shutterstock.com). That is a 59-fold increase in daily microplastic consumption from 1990 to 2018, the date range used for the models. grams per month, while the lowest is Paraguay at 0.85

article thumbnail

Using microbes to remove microplastics

Envirotec Magazine

Researchers at Hong Kong Polytechnic University have developed a seemingly new technique to trap and recover microplastics. The method uses bacterial biofilms, a sticky substance created by micro-organisms, to trap microplastic particles. In bioreactors, this makes the microplastics more convenient to collect, according to Liu.

Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Trending Sources

article thumbnail

How old is that microplastic? A new way to estimate the age of microplastics in the upper ocean

Envirotec Magazine

Researchers have developed a new way to estimate the age of microplastics found in the upper oceans. The team – from Kyushu University and Asahi Kasei Corporation – applied their new method to estimate the age of microplastics found in nearshore and offshore sites in the North Pacific Ocean.

article thumbnail

Washing machine filter captures microplastic without the need for disposables

Envirotec Magazine

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.

article thumbnail

Next UK prime minister must ban microplastics, says drainage group

Envirotec Magazine

The UK’s next prime minister should ban manufacturers from intentionally adding microplastics to consumer or professional use products, according to a new environmental campaign from the drainage experts at Lanes Group plc. Microplastic particles measure less than 5mm and are incorporated into a wide variety of consumer products.

article thumbnail

Microplastics: 77% more found in River Thames during lockdown may be due to discarded face masks and PPE

Envirotec Magazine

By Ria Devereux , PhD Student, Microplastic Pollution, University of East London, writing in The Conversation. However, our research found discarded face coverings and other personal protective equipment (PPE) are likely to be the cause of a rise in microplastics entering the environment. That works out to an average of 17.6

article thumbnail

Microplastics: Six surprising everyday things that contain and release them

Envirotec Magazine

Microplastics have become so widespread that they have been discovered in fresh Antarctic snow. Microplastics are minute pieces of plastic – less than five millimeters in length. Microplastics are minute pieces of plastic – less than five millimeters in length. But we have some alarming signals. Nail polish.