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Wastewater as a potential source of microplastics in aquatic environments
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This conference abstract reviews how wastewater and wastewater treatment plants are significant sources of microplastics — from cosmetic microbeads and synthetic textile fibers — entering the environment. It highlights that even treated wastewater effluent and sewage sludge spread onto farmland continue to release microplastics.
Rapid increasing production and utilization of microplastics (MPs) raise concerns about environmental risks globally. Literature indicates that wastewater and wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) play critical sources in releasing MPs to the environment. Among different MPs, microbeads added into the facial cleanser, and toothpaste can be directly discharged into wastewater through human activities. Synthetic clothing, i.e., polyester (PES) and nylon, might shed thousands of fibers into wastewater during the washing process. WWTPs are not designed to capture MPs, and therefore, a huge amount of MPs load can be discharged without or poor treatment, and can accumulate in aquatic environments. This work shows a comprehensive overview of available information on the presence of MPs in different freshwater environments, particularly rivers, along with MPs types, sizes, shapes, and properties. Moreover, the study also indicates significant technical advancement in MPs detection, characterization, and quantification from the complex sample matrix.
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Waste water treatment as a source of microplastic pollution
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This conference abstract examines how wastewater treatment plants are a key pathway for microplastics from urban sources into rivers and ultimately the ocean. It frames improving wastewater treatment as a critical step for reducing the flow of microplastics into aquatic ecosystems.
Microplastic threat to aquatic ecosystems of the municipal wastewater treatment plant
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This review examined wastewater treatment plants as major sources of microplastic contamination in aquatic ecosystems, finding that effluents carrying cosmetic microbeads and synthetic clothing fibers represent a significant ongoing pathway for plastic particles to enter rivers and lakes.
Municipal effluent as a potential source of microplastics in the aquatic environment
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This review examined municipal wastewater treatment plants as potential sources of microplastics—including microbeads from personal care products and synthetic fibers from laundry—in aquatic environments. While modern treatment plants remove a significant fraction of microplastics, they may still discharge millions of particles per day and their capacity to remove the smallest particles is limited.
Identification and quantification of microplastics in wastewater treatment plant effluent: Investigation of the fate and biological effects
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This study identified and quantified microplastics in wastewater treatment plant effluents and sludge, finding particles in all samples with fibers being the dominant type. The research contributes to understanding how much microplastic reaches surface waters via wastewater discharge and how much is captured in sludge that is subsequently applied to agricultural land.
Occurrence of microplastics in the effluent of wastewater treatment plants : growing threat to the environment?
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This review examines studies on microplastic occurrence in wastewater treatment plant effluents, synthesizing evidence that treatment plants both retain and release significant quantities of microplastics and are a major pathway for plastic particles entering aquatic environments.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.