Evaluating Microplastics Removal Efficiency of Textile Industry Conventional Wastewater Treatment Plant of Thailand

Global plastic pollution is a serious problem. From manufacture to disposal, microplastics appear at every point in the textile life cycle. Numerous case studies demonstrated that wastewater treatment facilities cannot remove the microplastics they produce. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the amount of microplastics that leaks into the canal and adjacent water bodies from a wastewater treatment facility serving the textile industry in Thailand, as well as to discover the differences between the samples taken upstream and downstream. NOAA protected laboratory investigation based findings indicated that 590–601 microplastics particles per cubic meter (particles/m3) flowed into the canal; however, the upstream sample (344–349) had more particles/m3 than the downstream sample (246–252). The industry leaked microplastics on average 172 particles/m3 upstream and 123 particles/m3 downstream. Our research revealed that the wastewater treatment plant's ability to capture microplastics particles was insufficient. A reliable mechanism to remove microplastics particles from wastewater treatment is required to protect environment, aquatic life, and water quality without interfering with industrial operations. This research emphasizes the Sustainable Development Goals, Responsible Production and Consumption (Goal 12), and Life below Water (Goal 14).