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Microplastics standards in Australia and around the world: challenges and perspectives
Summary
This review paper looked at existing rules and testing methods for microplastics (tiny plastic particles) around the world and found major gaps—especially for measuring plastics in the air, super-tiny "nanoplastics," and plastics inside our bodies. Right now, there's no consistent, reliable way to test for these particles, which makes it harder to know how much we're actually exposed to and to create solid health protections. Closing these gaps matters because better standards would help scientists and regulators figure out real risks and push companies and governments to reduce our exposure to microplastics in food, water, and air.
This study provides a review of existing microplastic-related standards. In total, 58 active standards were identified on Standards Australia International Global database. Their scope, spanning sampling, extraction, characterisation and reporting protocols, is reviewed in the context of practical applications. The review also evaluates the rollout of policy responses aiming to curb the burden of some of the main microplastics sources such as microbeads, tyre particles, textiles, and synthetic turf. Positive examples of regulations and initiatives are highlighted across multiple jurisdictions, illustrating the diversity of global approaches. The analysis reveals current gaps in microplastics standardisation and a lack of interlaboratory comparison studies, especially for airborne microplastics, nanoplastics, analysis in biological samples and reference materials. Uncertainties regarding environmental behaviour and degradation pathways of biodegradable polymers and their contribution to microplastics loads can further complicate guidelines’ introduction. Finally, the study discusses possible ways of integrating microplastics regulation within existing environmental protection legislation frameworks to introduce future microplastics standards.