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'ALL ROADS FLOW TO THE SEA' – capturing road-based plastic pollution using physical and community interventions
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Researchers developed customized drain basket interventions called 'Drain Buddies' fitted with 300 micron mesh nets to capture road-based microplastics -- including tyre wear particles, road paint, and synthetic grass fibres -- before they enter aquatic environments via stormwater drains.
Roads act as conduits for plastic pollution, especially smaller microplastics (¡ 5 mm), which enter aquatic environments via stormwater drains. Tyre wear significantly adds to road dust, while tyre crumb is increasingly incorporated into products like playground coverings. Road paint and synthetic grass further contribute to this road-associated plastic burden. To assess microplastic waste from road-related activities, customized heavy duty baskets 'Drain Buddies' (with detachable 300 μm mesh net) were installed in stormwater drains at 15 strategic locations in Rockhampton and Livingstoneshire, central Queensland. The selection of sites was a collaborative effort with local councils, focusing on areas near artificial grass, recent roadworks, busy city centers, and industrial zones. Samples were collected during eight emptying cycles between October 2021 and March 2023. Samples were sieved (5 mm, 2 mm, 1 mm, 500 μm) and ¿1,500 putative plastics were visually identified and removed by eye. Smaller samples underwent density separation using ZnCl and digestion using H2O2. Items of interest were photographed, measured, categorized, and individually analyzed using ATR-FTIR for polymer identification. Tyre particles were identified using Pyrolysis-GCMS. Results will be discussed. This study provides insights into the optimal timing, locations, and duration for installing Drain Buddies to minimize road-related plastic pollution in our waterways. Also see: https://micro2024.sciencesconf.org/557725/document
More Papers Like This
'ALL ROADS FLOW TO THE SEA' – capturing road-based plastic pollution using physical and community interventions
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers assessed road-based microplastic pollution using 'Drain Buddies' — custom mesh basket inserts installed in 15 stormwater drains in Queensland, Australia — collecting and analyzing over 1,500 putative plastic particles across eight sampling cycles between 2021 and 2023. They found that roads serve as significant conduits for microplastics including tyre wear particles, paint fragments, and synthetic grass fibers entering aquatic systems.
Removal and fate of microplastics in permeable pavements: An experimental layer-by-layer analysis
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Researchers tested permeable pavements as a way to capture microplastics from urban stormwater runoff and found they retained 89% to over 99% of microplastic particles. The microplastics accumulated mainly on the pavement surface and in geotextile filter layers, preventing them from reaching natural waterways. This type of sustainable urban drainage could be an effective tool for reducing the amount of microplastics that wash off roads and into the water sources people depend on.
Microplastics in gully pot sediment in urban areas: Presence, quantities and characteristics
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Researchers analyzed sediment from 29 urban gully pots — the roadside drains that funnel stormwater into sewer pipes — and found concentrations of up to 10,600 microplastic particles per 100g of sediment, with tire wear particles making up roughly a third. The study shows gully pots act as temporary traps for microplastics before they flush into waterways, and that maintaining and cleaning them could reduce the flow of microplastics into rivers and the ocean. This is a practical, infrastructure-based intervention point for cutting urban microplastic pollution.
Spatial organisation of microplastics in road runoff across an urban network.
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Researchers measured microplastics in rainwater runoff collected from roads across a city. Levels varied widely even between sites close together, and the mix of plastic types differed from place to place, but tiny particles (25 to 50 micrometers) consistently made up most particles found, about 84%.
Permeable pavement blocks as a sustainable solution for managing microplastic pollution in urban stormwater
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Researchers tested whether permeable pavement, the kind of pavement that lets water drain through it, can filter out microplastics from urban stormwater runoff. They found it can trap microplastic particles effectively, suggesting permeable pavement could be a practical tool for reducing the amount of microplastics that wash into rivers and oceans from city streets.
Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.