Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Consumer-based actions to reduce plastic pollution in rivers: A multi-criteria decision analysis approach

Researchers applied multi-criteria decision analysis to evaluate consumer-based actions for reducing macroplastic pollution in European freshwater environments, focusing on commonly found single-use plastic items. The analysis ranked actions by their potential to reduce plastic inputs to rivers, providing a framework to guide consumer choices and inform policy targeting the most impactful plastics.

2020 PLoS ONE 70 citations
Article Tier 2

A review on strategies for the removal and degradation of microplastics from aquatic environments: Pros, cons, policies perspectives, and life cycle and economic assessment

Researchers reviewed strategies for removing and degrading microplastics from aquatic environments, including sand filtration, adsorption, and membrane technologies. The study evaluates the advantages, challenges, and practical solutions for each approach, alongside policy perspectives and life cycle economic assessments to guide future remediation efforts.

2026 Marine Pollution Bulletin
Article Tier 2

Case studies of macro- and microplastics pollution in coastal waters and rivers: Is there a solution with new removal technologies and policy actions?

This review examined case studies of macro- and microplastic pollution in coastal waters and rivers, discussing the current state of contamination and evaluating emerging removal technologies and policy interventions. The authors assessed whether new technological solutions and regulatory actions could realistically address the global scale of plastic pollution.

2020 Case Studies in Chemical and Environmental Engineering 77 citations
Article Tier 2

A novel multi-criteria decision analysis approach to advance standardisation of microplastic extraction from agricultural soils

Researchers developed a standardized method for extracting microplastics from agricultural soils using a multi-criteria decision framework that weighed recovery efficiency, cost, time, and environmental impact. The winning combination — hydrogen peroxide digestion at 50°C followed by zinc chloride density separation — achieved over 92% recovery of microplastics across diverse soil types.

2026 Soil Advances
Article Tier 2

Microplastic pollution in marine environments: An in-depth analysis of advanced monitoring techniques, removal technologies, and future challenges

This review provides a comprehensive analysis of microplastic pollution in marine environments, covering sources, ecological impacts, and current monitoring and removal technologies. Researchers examined physical, chemical, and biological methods for microplastic detection and cleanup, including filtration, separation, and hybrid approaches. The study concludes that while progress has been made, significant gaps remain in our ability to effectively monitor and remove microplastics from ocean ecosystems.

2025 Marine Environmental Research 17 citations
Article Tier 2

Decision-science navigates trade-offs between environmental and socio-economic objectives for marine debris mitigation

Researchers applied decision-science methods to evaluate marine debris management strategies across Southeast Asia, balancing environmental protection with socio-economic impacts. They found that structured decision-making helped identify the best sites and approaches for reducing plastic exposure to marine ecosystems and coastal communities. The study demonstrates how systematic frameworks can navigate the complex trade-offs involved in tackling ocean plastic pollution.

2025 Pacific Conservation Biology 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Assessment of Sustainable Wastewater Treatment Technologies Using Interval-valued Intuitionistic Fuzzy Distance Measure-based Mairca Method

Researchers developed a decision-making framework for evaluating sustainable wastewater treatment technologies using fuzzy set theory and multi-criteria analysis. The method accounts for uncertainty in expert assessments while comparing technologies across economic, environmental, and social criteria. The study provides a systematic approach for selecting wastewater treatment solutions that can address emerging contaminants including microplastics.

2023 Facta Universitatis Series Mechanical Engineering 56 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

Marine plastic pollution: A systematic review of management strategies through a macroscope approach

Researchers applied a systems-level framework to review 176 studies on marine plastic pollution management, finding that waste collection infrastructure and freshwater pathways are critically understudied and that no existing strategy — from beach cleanup to biomaterials — is scalable enough to meaningfully reverse the plastic crisis.

2024 Marine Pollution Bulletin 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Evaluating the environmental impact of cleaning the North Pacific Garbage Patch

Researchers developed a novel plastic pollution impact assessment framework and applied it to evaluate whether cleanup operations targeting the North Pacific Garbage Patch could deliver a net environmental benefit, finding that removing legacy plastic pollution from the subtropical gyre may benefit marine life and carbon cycling when assessed against the environmental costs of the cleanup itself.

2025
Article Tier 2

Global assessment of innovative solutions to tackle marine litter

Researchers reviewed 177 validated innovative solutions for preventing, monitoring, and cleaning marine litter from a global search, finding that most focused on monitoring rather than prevention, few had reached commercial maturity, and none had been validated for environmental impact or efficiency.

2021 Nature Sustainability 103 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastic pollution solutions: emerging technologies to prevent and collect marine plastic pollution

Researchers created a comprehensive inventory of 52 technologies designed to either prevent plastic from entering waterways or collect existing marine plastic pollution. The study found that while many promising solutions exist, most target macroplastics and there are far fewer options for capturing microplastics. The inventory serves as a roadmap for policymakers and innovators to compare approaches and identify where more technological development is needed.

2020 Environment International 428 citations
Article Tier 2

Life Cycle and Techno‐Economic Assessment of Microplastics Remediation Technologies and Policies

This chapter analyzes microplastic remediation technologies using life cycle assessment, techno-economic assessment, and SWOT analysis to compare their sustainability and cost-effectiveness. Researchers evaluated methods such as froth flotation, density separation, and electrostatic separation for removing microplastics from water. The study aims to help researchers understand which remediation approaches are most technologically and economically feasible without compromising environmental sustainability.

2025 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Selection of a sustainable treatment process for removal of microplastics from wastewater by axiomatic design and PROMETHEE

Researchers compared multiple water treatment processes for microplastic removal and identified selection criteria for sustainable treatment approaches, finding that coagulation-flocculation, membrane filtration, and biological treatment each offered different trade-offs in cost, efficiency, and byproduct generation.

2025 International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Adoption of a multi-criteria approach for the selection of operational measures in a maritime environment

This study applies a multi-criteria decision-making framework to help the maritime shipping industry choose operational measures that balance productivity with environmental sustainability. Reducing plastic waste and pollution from shipping vessels is one factor considered in this analysis.

2021 Journal of Project Management 5 citations
Article Tier 2

A Cross Disciplinary Framework for Cost-Benefit Optimization of Marine Litter Cleanup at Regional Scale

This paper presents a cost-benefit framework for prioritizing where and how to clean up marine litter at regional scale. The framework considers factors like litter type, removal cost, ecological damage, and population exposure. Better economic tools for prioritizing cleanup could help direct limited resources toward areas where marine plastic removal has the greatest benefit.

2021 Frontiers in Marine Science 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Towards a Sustainable Ocean Ecosystem: Innovations in Plastic Pollution Mitigation, Policy Collaborations, and Technological Advancements

This review examined innovations in ocean plastic pollution mitigation, including clean-up technologies, international policy collaborations, and engineering advances, synthesizing the current state of efforts to address the global plastic waste crisis in marine environments.

2023 Journal of Student Research 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Análise de técnicas de remediação para a mitigação de micro e nanoplásticos em oceanos com base na revisão da literatura

This review analyzed scientific literature on remediation techniques for removing micro- and nanoplastics from ocean environments, identifying and comparing two key approaches: the first focused on membrane-based methods — ultrafiltration, membrane bioreactors, and dynamic membrane technology — for wastewater treatment, and the second examined nanomaterials as adsorbents. Membrane technologies demonstrated high removal efficiency for micro- and nanoplastics, though each method presents implementation challenges that require further research.

2024
Article Tier 2

Critical review of microplastics removal from the environment

This review evaluates technologies for removing microplastics from the environment, including physical methods like filtration, chemical treatments, and biological approaches using microorganisms. Each method has trade-offs between effectiveness, cost, and scalability, and no single technology can solve the problem alone. The authors emphasize that reducing human exposure to microplastics requires combining better removal technologies with policies that limit plastic production and waste at the source.

2022 Chemosphere 256 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
Review Tier 2

Mitigation measures to avert the impacts of plastics and microplastics in the marine environment (a review)

This review examines the growing problem of plastic and microplastic pollution in marine environments and evaluates various mitigation strategies. The authors discuss approaches including reducing plastic production, improving waste management, developing biodegradable alternatives, and implementing cleanup technologies. The study emphasizes that a combination of prevention, policy intervention, and innovative solutions is needed to address the scale of marine plastic contamination.

2018 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 177 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

Assessing Recent Technologies for Addressing Microplastic Pollution and Pushing the Case of Bioremediation as an Attractive Approach

This review assesses current technologies for addressing microplastic pollution, with a focus on bioremediation as a sustainable alternative. Researchers compared physical, chemical, and biological approaches and found that microbial degradation offers distinct advantages in terms of environmental compatibility and cost-effectiveness. The study advocates for increased investment in bioremediation research as a practical strategy for managing microplastic contamination at scale.

2024 Recent Advances in Food Nutrition & Agriculture 2 citations
Article Tier 2

How much innovation is needed to protect the ocean from plastic contamination?

Researchers used a system dynamics model to simulate ocean plastic cleanup scenarios, finding that reducing ocean plastic debris 25% below 2010 levels by 2030 would require removing 135 million tons at a cost of up to €708 billion — far exceeding any single cleanup project — and that technological solutions alone cannot solve the problem without complementary policy interventions.

2019 The Science of The Total Environment 140 citations
Article Tier 2

Comparative Analysis of Environmental, Economic, and Social Criteria for Plastic Recycling Technology Selection in India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Thailand

This study surveyed stakeholders in four Asian countries about criteria for selecting PET plastic recycling technologies, finding that environmental and economic factors were rated highest. Improving PET recycling capacity is critical for reducing plastic waste that ultimately becomes microplastic pollution.

2023 International Journal of Sustainable Development and Planning 2 citations