Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Challenges and opportunities in sustainable management of microplastics and nanoplastics in the environment

This review examines the challenges and emerging strategies for sustainably managing micro- and nanoplastic pollution in the environment. Researchers assessed various approaches including advanced filtration, biodegradation, chemical recycling, and policy interventions aimed at reducing plastic waste. The study emphasizes that achieving meaningful progress will require combining technological solutions with stronger regulations and changes in how plastics are produced and consumed.

2021 Environmental Research 182 citations
Article Tier 2

Tackling microplastics pollution in global environment through integration of applied technology, policy instruments, and legislation

This review examines the global microplastics pollution problem and evaluates solutions combining technology, policy, and legislation. Current water treatment technologies like membrane bioreactors can remove microplastics, but no single approach is sufficient. The authors call for coordinated international action combining better detection methods, cleanup technologies, and stronger regulations to address plastic pollution in both water and land environments.

2023 Journal of Environmental Management 60 citations
Article Tier 2

Global challenges in microplastics: From fundamental understanding to advanced degradations toward sustainable strategies

This review examined global challenges in microplastic research — from environmental entry pathways and fate to human health impacts — and discussed potential degradation strategies, concluding that a combination of photocatalysis, biodegradation, and policy measures will be needed for sustainable management.

2020 Chemosphere 101 citations
Article Tier 2

Bottlenecks of Global Plastic Strategy and the Way Forward of Microplastics Management

This review examines bottlenecks in global plastic waste management strategies, arguing that rising plastic use in everyday activities has outpaced regulatory and logistical capacity, and proposing pathways forward for more effective microplastics management at a global scale.

2025
Article Tier 2

Microplastic Pollution Prevention: The Need for Robust Policy Interventions to Close the Loopholes in Current Waste Management Practices

This review argues that current waste management policies have significant gaps that allow microplastic pollution to continue growing despite awareness of the problem. While cleanup technology is improving, prevention through better regulation of plastic production, use, and disposal is more practical and cost-effective. The authors call for stronger policy interventions including extended producer responsibility, bans on unnecessary single-use plastics, and standardized microplastic monitoring.

2023 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 75 citations
Article Tier 2

Policy and Regulatory Approaches to Mitigating Micro- and Nano Plastic Pollution

This chapter reviews policy and regulatory approaches to addressing microplastic and nanoplastic pollution globally. The study examines existing regulations, treatment technologies, and prevention strategies including product design modifications and improved waste management. The authors emphasize that effective governance requires collaboration among stakeholders and continued research, particularly on nanoplastics and human health impacts.

2024 Advances in environmental engineering and green technologies book series 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in the environment: An urgent need for coordinated waste management policies and strategies

This review highlights that microplastic pollution affects marine ecosystems, farmland, and human health, but current waste management policies are fragmented and insufficient. The authors evaluate existing strategies and propose practical solutions including better recycling programs, product redesign to reduce plastic use, and coordinated international policy. Addressing the microplastic problem requires not just cleanup technology but systemic changes in how we produce, use, and dispose of plastics.

2023 Journal of Environmental Management 73 citations
Article Tier 2

Various conventional and advanced management techniques and policies adopted at the global level for microplastics

This chapter reviews the range of conventional and advanced techniques being used worldwide to manage microplastic pollution, from physical filtration and chemical treatment to biodegradation approaches. Researchers also examined policy responses including bans on microbeads, extended producer responsibility programs, and international agreements. The study emphasizes that a combination of technological innovation and strong regulatory frameworks is needed to effectively address the microplastic crisis.

2024 Microplastics 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Addressing the microplastic crisis: A multifaceted approach to removal and regulation

Researchers reviewed the growing crisis of microplastic pollution and concluded that no single solution is sufficient — effective action requires combining better wastewater treatment, biodegradable plastic alternatives, stricter regulations, public education, and new detection technologies. They identified major knowledge gaps in understanding the full health and ecological impacts, underscoring the need for global cooperation.

2024 Environmental Advances 99 citations
Review Tier 2

A review of the cost and effectiveness of solutions to address plastic pollution

This review evaluates the cost and effectiveness of technologies and policies designed to reduce plastic and microplastic pollution, from recycling and waste management to in-stream cleanup devices and regulatory measures. The authors find that addressing plastic pollution requires coordinated action across the full lifecycle of plastics.

RePEc: Research Papers in Economics
Article Tier 2

Policy priorities: emerging trends in a global response

This policy review examines global regulatory responses to plastic and microplastic pollution, identifying focal areas, gaps, and future directions by drawing parallels to historical policy development around air pollution management.

2024 Microplastics
Article Tier 2

Conventional and advanced management techniques and policies adopted at the global level for microplastics

This review surveys conventional and advanced techniques for microplastic removal and management, comparing wastewater treatment plants, membrane bioreactors, rapid sand filtration, electrocoagulation, and photocatalytic degradation -- the latter capable of over 99% removal efficiency. The chapter also reviews global policy responses including bans, taxes, national regulations, and biodegradable plastic initiatives to address microplastic pollution at source.

2024 Microplastics
Article Tier 2

Micro‐ and Nano‐Plastic Pollution

Researchers review the growing global threat of micro- and nanoplastics — plastic particles ranging from 0.1mm down to 100 nanometers — exploring how they bind to toxic chemicals as they travel through the environment and how emerging photocatalytic technologies using sunlight could offer sustainable new ways to break them down.

2025
Article Tier 2

The Role of Legislation, Regulatory Initiatives and Guidelines on the Control of Plastic Pollution

This review examines existing plastic pollution regulations globally, finding that despite many proposals and national bans, the overall effectiveness of legislation is unclear and most measures focus narrowly on marine plastics or single-use items. The authors argue that laws often lag behind science and face practical limitations given how deeply embedded plastics are in daily life.

2020 Frontiers in Environmental Science 220 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in water resources: Global pollution circle, possible technological solutions, legislations, and future horizon

This review summarizes the global scope of microplastic contamination in water and sediment, finding levels that vary enormously -- from near zero to thousands of particles per sample. Microplastics absorb other pollutants from their surroundings, potentially concentrating harmful chemicals, and they infiltrate food chains from the smallest organisms upward. The authors call for stronger legislation and a combination of technological innovation, recycling, and public awareness to address this widespread threat to ecosystems and human health.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 29 citations
Article Tier 2

Strategies and technologies for sustainable plastic waste treatment and recycling

This review covers current and emerging methods for recycling and treating plastic waste to reduce environmental pollution. The authors emphasize that improperly managed plastics break down into microplastics that contaminate ecosystems, and they evaluate strategies including chemical recycling, biodegradation, and energy recovery as more sustainable alternatives to landfilling.

2025 Environmental Functional Materials 10 citations
Review Tier 2

Microplastics: A Review of Policies and Responses

This critical review assembled current knowledge on policies and regulatory responses to plastic pollution globally, including legislative measures, economic instruments, and voluntary commitments. The authors identify a gap between scientific evidence and policy action and call for stronger, more coordinated international governance of plastic pollution.

2022 Microplastics 79 citations
Article Tier 2

Solutions to Microplastics Pollution

This book chapter reviews current and emerging solutions to microplastic pollution, arguing that most research focuses on enrichment blocking while neglecting policy regulation, source substitution, and recycling approaches. It calls for comprehensive treatment strategies that address the full lifecycle of plastics rather than only end-of-pipe MP capture.

2025
Article Tier 2

Micro- and Nano-Plastics Contaminants in the Environment: Sources, Fate, Toxicity, Detection, Remediation, and Sustainable Perspectives

This review provides a broad overview of micro- and nanoplastic pollution, covering where these particles come from, how they spread through the environment, and the damage they cause to living things including humans. The authors also compare different methods for removing microplastics from the environment, including physical, chemical, and biological approaches. The paper calls for more research and global cooperation to develop better tools for measuring the health risks of plastic pollution.

2023 Water 31 citations
Article Tier 2

From Pollution to Solution: Scalable Approaches to Microplastic Degradation and Sustainability: A Review

This review examined scalable approaches to microplastic degradation and pollution control, covering photocatalytic, biological, and chemical degradation strategies as well as source reduction policies. The authors assessed both technical feasibility and implementation barriers for transitioning from pollution to solution at industrial scales.

2025 Asian Journal of Chemistry
Article Tier 2

Impact of Plastic Pollution on the Environment and Application of Multidimensional Degradation Technology

This review examines plastic pollution from production through environmental fate, describing how the durability that makes plastics commercially valuable also drives global contamination, and surveys multidimensional degradation technologies including photodegradation, biodegradation, and combined strategies for managing plastic waste. The authors assess both current industry practices and emerging approaches for reducing plastic accumulation.

2024 Environment and Climate Protection
Article Tier 2

Cleaner seas: reducing marine pollution

This review summarized international policy efforts and technological approaches to reducing marine plastic pollution, identifying gaps in enforcement of existing regulations, the need for extended producer responsibility schemes, and the importance of combining upstream plastic reduction with downstream cleanup to meaningfully decrease ocean plastic loads.

2021 Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries 88 citations
Article Tier 2

The Burden of Microplastics Pollution and Contending Policies and Regulations

This review examines the growing global burden of microplastic pollution and the policies being developed to address it. Researchers found that inadequate waste management systems allow massive amounts of plastic to contaminate terrestrial and aquatic environments, threatening ecosystems and the billions of people who depend on them. The study evaluates existing regulations and suggests that stronger, more coordinated policy frameworks are needed to curb microplastic pollution.

2022 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 140 citations
Article Tier 2

Integrated approaches for plastic waste management

This review surveys the full spectrum of approaches — recycling, biodegradation by microbes, and chemical or physical treatment — for managing the enormous global volume of plastic waste that otherwise persists in the environment for hundreds of years. The authors argue that no single method is sufficient and that an integrated strategy combining multiple techniques is needed to prevent plastics from fragmenting into environmentally harmful microplastics. The review provides a useful overview for policymakers and researchers looking to reduce plastic pollution at scale.

2024 Frontiers in Microbiology 2 citations