Papers

Microplastic degradation as a sustainable concurrent approach for producing biofuel and obliterating hazardous environmental effects: A state-of-the-art review

This review explores approaches to degrading microplastics through thermal and biological methods, which could simultaneously reduce environmental pollution and produce usable biofuels. Researchers highlight how certain microorganisms and heat-based processes can break down microplastics into simpler compounds that can serve as energy sources. The study suggests these dual-purpose strategies could help address both the plastic pollution crisis and energy security challenges.

Assessing the Community Perception in San Jose, Occidental Mindoro, of Proper Waste Disposal: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach

Researchers surveyed residents of San Jose, Occidental Mindoro in the Philippines to understand what factors influence proper waste disposal behavior. Using structural equation modeling, they found that attitudes, social norms, and perceived behavioral control all significantly predicted waste disposal practices. The study suggests that community education campaigns targeting these psychological factors could improve waste management outcomes in the area.

Do Social Media Posts Influence Consumption Behavior towards Plastic Pollution?

Researchers surveyed 213 individuals to assess how social media posts influence consumer behavior toward plastic pollution, finding that information campaigns on social media can shift attitudes and reduce plastic consumption intentions.

Interactions between marine megafauna and plastic pollution in Southeast Asia

Researchers reviewed published cases of marine megafauna — including sharks, dolphins, sea turtles, and seabirds — entangled in or having ingested plastics across Southeast Asia, a region that contributes roughly a third of global marine plastic pollution. Despite the scale of the problem, scientific documentation of plastic impacts on wildlife in the region remains far behind other parts of the world, highlighting a critical data gap.

Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Dots Derived from Onion Peel (Allium cepa) for Fluorescence-Based Detection of Microplastics

Researchers synthesized fluorescent nitrogen-doped carbon dots from onion peel and used them to detect high-density and low-density polyethylene microplastics, finding that the particles produced excitation-dependent fluorescence that enabled selective detection of both plastic types.

Interactions between phytoplankton species and micro/nano‐plastics and heavy metal contamination

This review examined the interactions between micro- and nanoplastics and heavy metals in the context of phytoplankton ecotoxicology, analyzing how combined pollutant stress affects marine primary producers. The combined toxicity was often greater than individual effects, with MPs acting as carriers that alter heavy metal bioavailability to phytoplankton.

Co-processing microalgae and microplastics under various thermochemical conversion pathways

Performance Evaluation of Rectangular Slot Microstrip Patch Antenna Under Variable Conditions for Real-Time Microplastic Detection and Classification

This study designed and tested a rectangular slot microstrip patch antenna for real-time microplastic detection in water, finding the antenna could classify microplastic-contaminated samples through changes in electromagnetic resonance properties, offering a low-cost alternative to spectroscopic methods.

First Flush Stormwater Runoff in Urban Catchments: A Bibliometric and Comprehensive Review

A bibliometric and comprehensive review examined the first flush phenomenon in urban stormwater runoff, synthesizing decades of research on the disproportionate pollutant loads delivered in the initial fraction of storm events. The review finds inconsistency in how first flush is defined and measured across studies, complicating efforts to design targeted stormwater treatment interventions.

Microplastics in dumping site soils from six Asian countries as a source of plastic additives

Microplastic abundance and plastic additive concentrations were analyzed in open-dumping site soils from six Asian countries, finding the highest abundance in Cambodia at 218,182 particles/kg and identifying these sites as sources of both primary microplastics and leachable plastic additives.

Sustainable solid-waste management in coastal and marine tourism cities in Vietnam: A hierarchical-level approach

Optimizing plastics recycling networks

Researchers developed mathematical optimization models — including linear programming tools — to help plan efficient plastic recycling networks that can tolerate some contamination from mixed plastic waste streams. These models could help overcome a key barrier to large-scale recycling by intelligently matching waste sources with the plants best equipped to handle them.

Recent Advances on Density Separation Techniques for Microplastic Recovery from Sediments

This review summarises recent advances in density separation techniques for extracting microplastics from sediments, evaluating the effectiveness of different salt solutions and comparing novel approaches such as electrostatic separation and pressurised fluid extraction against conventional methods.

Multi-mechanistic adsorption of pharmaceuticals and personal care products on oxidized microplastics: Oxidation processes, mechanisms, and environmental implications

Researchers reviewed how weathering and oxidation change microplastic surfaces, making them better at absorbing pharmaceuticals and personal care product chemicals from water. The modified surfaces attract these contaminants through multiple chemical forces, meaning aged microplastics in the environment act as enhanced carriers for drug and cosmetic pollutants.

Microplastic Detection in Lawaye River, San Juan, Batangas City, Philippines Using Front-Face Fluorescence Spectroscopy

Delirium and Derangement: Futurities of Climatic and Islandic Relationality in Philippine Artistic Practice

Researchers examined two Philippine contemporary artworks — Mark Orozco Justiniani's 'Arkipelago' and the Vargas Museum's 'Fever Dream' — as case studies in ecocritical and archipelagic theory, arguing that their atmospheric and temporal distortions reflect the compounded climate crises of catastrophic heat and rain. The analysis positions Philippine artistic practice as both critique of modernity's failures and a site for imagining alternative futurities in the face of climate catastrophe.

Qualitative Assessment and Management of Microplastics in Asian Green Mussels (Perna viridis) Cultured in Bacoor Bay,Cavite, Phillipines

Green mussels cultured in Bacoor Bay in the Philippines were found to contain microplastics, which can accumulate persistent organic pollutants in the tissues of filter-feeding shellfish. Since green mussels are widely consumed as food, the findings raise food safety concerns about the combined exposure to microplastics and associated chemical contaminants.

Intention to use reusable shopping bags in an emerging economy: a Bayesian Mindsponge framework analysis

Researchers applied the Bayesian Mindsponge Framework to survey data from 536 Vietnamese consumers, finding that voluntary personal norms rather than obligation were the primary driver of intention to use reusable shopping bags over single-use plastic bags. The results suggest that pro-environmental behavior in emerging economies is more effectively cultivated through values-based approaches than compliance framing.

Modelling vicious networks with P-graph causality maps

Researchers extended a mathematical framework called P-graph causality maps — originally used to plan desirable outcomes — to analyze how disasters unfold through interlocking chains of failures, using the 1984 Bhopal industrial explosion as a case study to identify which key components, if removed, could have prevented the catastrophe.

Microplastics in Coastal Aquaculture Systems: Development of Regulatory Frameworks, Practices and Mitigation Efforts in APEC Economies

This report reviewed the status of microplastic pollution in coastal aquaculture systems across Asia-Pacific economies and assessed existing regulatory frameworks and mitigation practices. Seafood consumers are directly exposed to microplastics through contaminated shellfish and fish, making aquaculture regulation an important food safety issue.