Microplastic pollution is a global issue, but where do they come from and how are they transported across the ocean? A new study finds polyester microfibres are common throughout the Arctic Ocean.
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Articles on Microplastics
Displaying 61 - 80 of 118 articles
Shaking polypropylene bottles and washing them with very hot water can release millions of tiny plastic particles. Here are four ways to reduce exposure.
Microplastics could pose a threat to the sustenance of aquatic biodiversity when ingested by animals.
This is up to 35 times more than the estimated weight of plastic pollution on the ocean’s surface.
As face marks and coverings become compulsory worldwide, littering and their potential impact on the environment increases.
Too many small yachts and speedboats are simply being abandoned to shed toxins and microplastics into the sea.
The discovery that such a common animal can rapidly produce vast numbers of nanoplastics is particularly worrying.
Plastic flows to the world’s waterbodies could double over the next two decades.
New research reveals how roads channel microplastics from car tires and brake pads to remote ocean habitats.
Our research on a remote Antarctic island found microplastics in the intestines of tiny animals.
We must stop using biosolids for farmlands immediately, especially when alternative ways to recycle wastewater sludge already exist.
To inner west Sydneysiders, the Cooks River is known to be particularly polluted. But after a storm, microplastic particles increased more than 40 fold.
Here’s how microplastics from your clothes end up in the deep sea.
Releasing balloons at weddings and other celebrations is festive, until they break into pieces and become plastic pollution. A citizen science project is spotlighting the problem.
Unless we know what is in the ocean, we can’t protect the biggest part of the planet.
The study also finds the weight of plastic waste from all rivers in Jakarta totals 2.1 million kilograms equivalent to 1,000 Tesla Model S cars.
Many studies find microplastics have important negative effects on animals, but others don’t.
Nigeria’s government must encourage citizens to embrace a system where plastic never become waste.
Levels of microplastics in the ocean are rising. More study is needed to figure out how these microplastics affect the qualities and properties of sea ice, and what the potential impact may be.
Where does plastic waste go when it reaches the ocean? For most of it, not far.
Top contributors
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Lecturer in Ornithology, Charles Sturt University
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Assistant Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto
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Associate Professor in Environmental Sciences, University of Southampton
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Professor in Forensic and Environmental Science, Staffordshire University
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Research Chair, Indigenous Approaches to Environmental Management, Keele University
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Professor of Sustainable Development, Keele University
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Research Director, Australian Microplastic Assessment Project (AUSMAP); Honorary Senior Research Fellow, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University
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Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University
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Senior Lecturer in Sustainability and the Built Environment, University of Portsmouth
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Associate Professor in Arts and Sustainability, University of Portsmouth
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Senior Principal Research Scientist, Environment, CSIRO
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Professor of Environmental Toxicology, Heriot-Watt University
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PhD Student, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto
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Research Professor Ecotoxicology, North-West University
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Professor of Ocean Policy and Economy, University of Portsmouth
