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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Tackling plastic pollution together: Examples of international collaboration for the monitoring and reporting of microlitter (including microplastics).
ClearTackling plastic pollution together: Examples of international collaboration for the monitoring and reporting of microlitter (including microplastics).
Researchers developed an international laboratory network of 15 facilities across Vanuatu, Belize, South Africa, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Malaysia through the Commonwealth Litter Programme and Ocean Country Partnership Programme, providing harmonized equipment, protocols, and training to enable comparable microplastic monitoring in Global South countries. This collaborative infrastructure approach demonstrates how large laboratory networks with standardized methods are essential for producing large-scale baseline assessments of microplastic pollution.
Creation of an international laboratory network towards global microplastics monitoring harmonisation
International programs established a network of microplastics research laboratories across Global South countries, providing standardized equipment, training, and protocols. This effort aims to build local scientific capacity and ensure that microplastic monitoring data from different regions can be meaningfully compared, which is essential for understanding the true global scale of plastic pollution.
A field and laboratory manual for sampling, processing and reporting microplastics in coastal and marine environments
This paper presents a comprehensive, standardized field and laboratory guideline for sampling, processing, and reporting microplastics in coastal and marine environments, developed through international collaboration. The harmonized protocols aim to improve comparability of data across global monitoring programmes.
Joint effort among research infrastructures to quantify the impact of plastic debris in the ocean
This collaborative overview coordinated monitoring of marine plastic debris across multiple research infrastructures, finding widespread and persistent contamination and calling for harmonized international observation protocols.
Insights into technical challenges in the field of microplastic pollution through the lens of early career researchers (ECRs) and a proposed pathway forward
A network of early-career microplastic researchers from the UK and China identified the major technical barriers holding back the field: difficulty obtaining representative samples, lack of access to clean labs and standardized equipment, poor comparability of data across studies, and insufficient training. The paper proposes practical solutions including open-access databases, shared training resources, and broader international collaboration. Addressing these infrastructure gaps is important because the quality and comparability of microplastic pollution data directly affects our ability to assess environmental and health risks.
Increasing our understanding of coastal microplastics and mesoplastics: a comparison of sampling methodologies using volunteer researchers
Researchers compared three different methods for sampling coastal microplastic and mesoplastic pollution using trained volunteers at three locations in southern England. They found that one citizen science method, the Big Microplastic Survey, consistently detected more plastic pollution and fewer zero counts than the other approaches. The study underscores the challenge of standardizing sampling methods and the importance of enabling meaningful comparisons across global monitoring efforts.
Guidelines for the monitoring and assessment of plastic litter and microplastics in the ocean.
This GESAMP report provides comprehensive guidelines for monitoring and assessing plastic litter and microplastics in the ocean, including sampling methods, quality assurance protocols, and reporting standards. Standardized guidelines are essential for generating comparable data across global monitoring programs and informing effective policy responses.
Addressing data gaps in marine litter distribution: Citizen science observation of plastics in coastal ecosystems by high-school students
The COLLECT citizen science project (2021-2022) trained high school students in seven African and Asian countries to sample and analyze macro-, meso-, and microplastics on beaches, generating open-access baseline data on coastal plastic pollution in regions with previously limited monitoring coverage.
Global measurement of surface water microplastics using a unified size threshold
A globally deployable measurement approach was developed for monitoring microplastics on water surfaces using a unified protocol applicable across different geographic regions. Standardized global measurement methods are critical for generating comparable data needed to assess the scale of ocean plastic pollution.
Determining global distribution of microplastics by combining citizen science and in-depth case studies
This study combined citizen science sampling data with in-depth field studies to build a better global picture of microplastic distribution. The approach shows how large-scale volunteer monitoring can extend spatial coverage far beyond what professional researchers can achieve alone.
IAEA-NUTEC Plastics Initiative: Advancing Global Understanding of Microplastic Pollution in the Ocean
This study describes the IAEA-NUTEC Plastics initiative, which is establishing a coordinated network of laboratories in over 100 countries to implement standardized microplastic sampling and analysis protocols, using radiometric and advanced technologies to improve the accuracy and cross-regional comparability of ocean microplastic data.
Standardised protocol for monitoring microplastics in sediments. Deliverable 4.2.
This paper presents a standardized protocol for monitoring microplastics in marine sediments, developed as part of an international project to harmonize sampling and analysis methods across different research groups. Having consistent protocols is essential for generating comparable data to track plastic pollution trends over time and location.
Citizen observation of plastic pollution in coastal ecosystems to address data gaps in marine litter distribution
Researchers launched the COLLECT citizen science project in seven African and Asian countries, training 15-18 year-old students to sample and analyze macro-, meso-, and microplastics in beach sediments using standardized scientific protocols, while simultaneously measuring shifts in ocean literacy and pro-environmental behavior to quantify the educational impact of the intervention.
Collaboration and infrastructure is needed to develop an African perspective on micro(nano)plastic pollution
This perspective argues that understanding micro(nano)plastic pollution requires pan-African research networks and infrastructure, as current knowledge is dominated by studies from wealthier nations while low- and middle-income countries bear disproportionate impacts from mismanaged plastic waste.
Improving monitoring, analysis and reporting to assess plastic pollution: a matter of comparability
This review examines two decades of microplastic monitoring in aquatic systems, identifying persistent challenges in harmonizing methodologies for sampling, analysis, and reporting that hinder data comparison, and proposing improvements to create comparable datasets for assessing plastic pollution from river basins to the ocean.
A spatial and temporal assessment of microplastics in seafloor sediments: A case study for the UK
This study assessed microplastic occurrence and abundance in UK seafloor sediments across spatial and temporal scales, supporting the development of common monitoring indicators for regional marine frameworks like OSPAR.
Microlitter Quality assurance and Quality control approaches to enable the comparability of data in European Seas
Researchers examined quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) approaches for microlitter monitoring in European seas, identifying the lack of harmonized protocols across sampling and analysis methods as a key barrier to producing comparable microplastic data across different national and regional monitoring programs.
A breakthrough in the harmonization of microplastics monitoring protocols in latin american region
This paper describes progress toward harmonizing microplastic monitoring protocols across Latin American countries, aiming to create consistent, comparable data from a region with significant plastic pollution challenges but historically fragmented scientific approaches. Standardized monitoring is a prerequisite for effective regional policy and for understanding how plastic pollution flows through South and Central American river systems.
A breakthrough in the harmonization of microplastics monitoring protocols in latin american region
This paper describes progress toward harmonizing microplastic monitoring protocols across Latin American countries, aiming to create consistent, comparable data from a region with significant plastic pollution challenges but historically fragmented scientific approaches. Standardized monitoring is a prerequisite for effective regional policy and for understanding how plastic pollution flows through South and Central American river systems.
Toward a long-term monitoring program for seawater plastic pollution in the north Pacific Ocean: Review and global comparison
This review compared marine plastic monitoring methods and contamination levels across ocean basins, finding that the North Pacific showed the highest microplastic levels globally and that minimum sampling cut-off size is crucial for meaningful data comparison across studies.
The Caribbean Microplastics problem; harmonization of protocols through the IAEA.
This paper describes efforts by the IAEA NUTEC Plastics project to harmonize microplastic monitoring protocols across Caribbean countries, building regional capacity for standardized data collection and analysis. Participating countries established baseline contamination data using shared methods, enabling cross-country comparisons in a region where previous monitoring was highly fragmented.
Methods for sampling, processing, identification,and quantification of microplastics in the marine environment
This paper reviews and compares the various methods used to collect, process, identify, and quantify microplastics across different environmental samples. It highlights the lack of standardized protocols as a major obstacle to comparing results across studies and calls for methodological harmonization.
Significant benefits from international cooperation over marine plastic pollution
Researchers modelled the benefits of international cooperation in addressing marine plastic pollution, finding that the interconnected nature of ocean systems means that unilateral national actions produce substantially smaller reductions in plastic accumulation than coordinated multinational agreements. The study quantified how sharing costs and strategies across nations could significantly improve outcomes for marine ecosystem protection and human well-being.
Microplastics pollution in terrestrial ecosystems of Africa: current knowledge, challenges, and building collaborative research networks
Despite microplastic contamination of soils being a growing global concern, very few studies have examined terrestrial ecosystems in Africa, leaving a significant gap in our understanding of the problem across the continent. This review maps what little is known, identifies research gaps, and proposes a framework for building collaborative research networks between African scientists and established international research groups. Closing these knowledge gaps is essential for developing appropriate pollution responses and policies across African nations.