Low-Density Microplastics in Recreational Parks of Al Ain, United Arab Emirates: Abundance, Composition, and Potential Effects on Soil Health

Microplastics (MPs) have been an emerging concern due to their harmful effects on the ecosystem and are ubiquitous in various habitats, from marine to terrestrial environments. However, studies on the presence of MPs in recreational areas are limited. One of the previous works has reported that urban recreational parks are considered “sinks” for plastic debris, including MPs. In this study, low-density MPs (LD-MPs) in soil samples collected from recreational parks of Al Ain, United Arab Emirates (UAE) were isolated by density flotation method. Results showed that these parks have varying levels of LD-MPs caused by various anthropogenic activities, such as sludge use and application of reclaimed water from wastewater treatment facilities in those areas. These plastic particles were isolated in 87% of the soil samples, with an average concentration of 1550 ± 340 MPs/kg. Predominantly, these comprised large LD-MPs (300 - 5000 μm), with red and blue being the most common colors. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy identified possible synthetic polymers, including polyethylene and polypropylene. Additionally, a negative correlation was observed between LD-MP concentration and soil pH and moisture content, indicating potential adverse effects on soil health. These findings highlight the need for monitoring and managing microplastic pollution in urban recreational areas to mitigate its ecological impacts.

Looking for a Chinese solution to global problems:The situation and countermeasures of marine plastic waste and microplastics pollution governance system in China

As one of the top ten environmental problems to be solved in the world,marine plastic waste and microplastic pollution seriously affect the health of marine ecosystems and the sustainable development of Marine economies.It is necessary to promote the establishment of a scientific and systematic Marine plastic waste and microplastic pollution control system and take strong measures to fundamentally curb and reverse the trend of marine pollution intensification in China.This paper first explains the practical significance of marine plastic waste and microplastic pollution control from three aspects:the sustainable development of the blue economy,the structural upgrading of the pan-plastic industry,and the improvement of public health awareness.Secondly,the particularity of marine plastic waste and microplastic pollution control system is summarized from three aspects of formation mechanism,migration path and damage performance.Then,it identifies domestic and international governance strategies and action plans from the perspectives of mechanism,subject,object,and measures,summarizes existing problems in the existing marine plastic waste and microplastic pollution control system,and gives directions for future improvement.Finally,some countermeasures and suggestions are put forward to accelerate the construction of China’s marine plastic waste and microplastic pollution control system,including the formation of a cross sectoral integrated land and sea control system,a full life cycle waste management process,a multi-participation model for marine ecological and environmental governance,and a global marine pollution prevention and control system.

Review of Microplastic Pollution in the Environment and Emerging Recycling Solutions

Microplastic pollution represents a side-effect stemming from a global plastic waste mismanagement problem and includes degraded particles or mass produced plastic particles less than 5 mm in largest dimension.The small nature of microplastics gives this area of pollution different environmental concerns than general plastic waste in the environment.The biological toxicity of particles,their internal components,and their surface level changes all present opportunities for these particles to adversely affect the environment around them.Thus,it is necessary to review the current literature surrounding this topic and identify areas where the study of microplastic can be pushed forward.Here we present current methods in studying microplastics,some of the ways by which microplastics affect the environment and attempt to shed light on how this research can continue.In addition,we review current recycling methods developing for the processing of mixed-plastic waste.These methods,including hydrothermal processing and solvent extraction,provide a unique opportunity to separate plastic waste and improve the viability of the plastics recycling industry.

Birds and plastic pollution:recent advances

Plastic waste and debris have caused substantial environmental pollution globally in the past decades,and they have been accumulated in hundreds of terrestrial and aquatic avian species.Birds are susceptible and vulnerable to external environments;therefore,they could be used to estimate the negative effects of environmental pollution.In this review,we summarize the effects of macroplastics,microplastics,and plastic-derived additives and plastic-absorbed chemicals on birds.First,macroplastics and microplastics accumulate in different tissues of various aquatic and terrestrial birds,suggesting that birds could suffer from the macroplastics and microplastics-associated contaminants in the aquatic and terrestrial environments.Second,the detrimental effects of macroplastics and microplastics,and their derived additives and absorbed chemicals on the individual survival,growth and development,reproductive output,and physiology,are summarized in different birds,as well as the known toxicological mechanisms of plastics in laboratory model mammals.Finally,we identify that human commensal birds,long-life-span birds,and model bird species could be utilized to different research objectives to evaluate plastic pollution burden and toxicological effects of chronic plastic exposure.

Making Plastics Greener and More Useful

Scientists from the Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(CAS)have developed a new way to make plastics to make it possible to be degradable in ambient environment with proper lighting.This move could help reduce plastic pollution.The new approach produces plastics from ethylene gas and carbon monoxide using specialized catalysts.This innovation incorporates two features to make the new-type plastics superior:the ability to degrade under ultraviolet light,and the new hydrophilic surface induced by introduction of new functional groups.The study was published in National Science Review(doi:10.1093/nsr/nwad039).

Are Antarctic Specially Protected Areas safe from plastic pollution? a survey of plastic litter at Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island, Antarctica

A number of studies have reported in the last decades the presence of plastics in the Southern Ocean,which are liable to reach the coast and accumulate on the Antarctic Continent.Despite this,there are few data on the amount of plastic pollution on Antarctic beaches below 60°S.Here we provide valuable information about the presence of plastic debris in Byers Peninsula,Livingston Island,South Shetland Islands,an Antarctic Specially Protected Area(ASPA)and a hotspot for biodiversity.A total of 129 locations with between 1 and 5 items were recorded among the 3 survey sites on Byers Peninsula.Most of the observed items are likely to derive from fishing and local sources such as tourism and research activities.We discuss the potential impacts of their presence on local fauna and some of the consequences on the Antarctic ecosystem.From this survey of plastic accumulation in an ASPA,we propose the implementation of mitigation strategies,such as systematic monitoring of the abundance and distribution of plastic waste,in order to identify trends in marine debris and control the levels of plastic pollution in the Maritime Antarctic region.

Microplastic and nanoplastic exposure and risk of diabetes mellitus

The issue of plastic pollutants has become a growing concern.Both microplastics(MPs)(particle size<5 mm)and nanoplastics(NPs)(particle size<1μm)can cause DNA damage,cytotoxicity,and oxidative stress in various organisms.The primary known impacts of microplastic/nanoplastic are observed in the liver and respiratory system,leading to hepatotoxicity and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.Although research on the effects of MPs and NPs on diabetes is still in its early stages,there are potential concerns.This editorial highlights the risk to diabetics from co-exposure to contaminants and MPs/NPs,supported by evidence from animal studies and the various chemical compositions of MPs/NPs.

Primary and Secondary Microplastic and Nanoplastic Regulations: Perspectives on Water Industry Impacts

Plastic pollution, both primary and secondary, is an environmental challenge, prompting regulatory actions at global and regional levels. With increasing research about the impacts of micro- and nanoplastics on ecosystems and human health, governments worldwide have undertaken efforts to address this issue. The global community has advanced regulatory efforts that have led to the implementation of national laws or regulations in numerous countries. These measures ban or restrict the use of primary and secondary microplastics and nanoplastics. An overview of global and European regulatory frameworks is presented to provide context for the United States (US). In the endeavor to document plastics regulation development in the US, a description of regulatory agencies and their roles in advancing policy and rules as well as future direction and areas for improvement in regulating plastics are introduced. A discussion of what emerging regulations mean to utilities and industries is also provided along with a comparison of regulatory frameworks.

Influencing Factors of Plastic Waste Pollution Reduction in Kinshasa

Plastic products, e.g., plastic bags, plastic bottles, and other plastic materials are widely used in people’s daily life and industrial production worldwide since they are cheap, easy to get, and convenient for all-purpose of transportation or movement. The wide application of plastic products also brings a lot of problems. The significant adverse consequences include plastic waste pollution and waste of resources, which pose a high threat to social development and environmental protection. In this research, a social survey involving 267 people was conducted to examine how certain factors reduce plastic waste pollution in Kinshasa. Statistical Product and Service Solutions were employed to analyze the data gathered from the survey. The results indicate that all the factors or strategies for reducing plastic waste pollution have a significant positive impact on plastic waste pollution reduction. The environmental factors have the highest contribution to the control of plastic waste pollution with an impact of 88.8%, followed by Government policy with an impact of 42.3%. Economic factors have the least impact contribution, with an impact of 36.0%. This finding and conclusion could be used as a framework for implementing plastic waste pollution management strategies or developing waste management systems.

The Cost of Plastic Pollution in N’Djamena: A Case Study

Plastic pollution is a major problem: it damages health, reduces ecosystem services, and affects local economies. Despite its importance, available valuation efforts have focused primarily on the damages caused by plastic in marine environments. Far less is known about the effects of plastic waste in inland settings. This paper addresses this gap by estimating in monetary terms the damages caused by the inappropriate disposal of plastic waste in an inland context. The study area is located along a canal that crosses N’Djamena, the capital of Chad. Using data from a primary survey and applying standard valuation techniques, the paper estimates the social cost of plastic pollution at over USD3000 per ton in 2020. In addition, it shows that the impacts of plastic waste vary significantly across the study area: households residing within 20 meters of the canal bear more than 75 percent of the total damages. The paper identifies the main valuation challenges and proposes recommendations to reduce plastic waste damages.

G20 Leads the Way on Plastic Pollution

THE Group of Twenty, or G20, is an international forum made up of leaders from nations and international organizations that is now the epicenter of world governance. As its name implies, the G20 is formally composed of 19 nations plus the European Union, but it also includes “permanent” invitees such as the heads of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, plus the chairs of organizations like the African Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The countries that make up the G20 account for 90 percent of the world GDP, 80 percent of world trade, and, with countries like China and India as members, two thirds of the world’s population. Along with the annual fall session at the United Nations, the annual meeting of the G20 is the most important gathering of leaders in the world. This year’s G20 meeting was held for the first time in Osaka, Japan, from June 28 to 29, 2019.

Macroplastics on Soil-Plant System: Inhibiting Effects of Macroplastics on the Growth of Green Amaranth (<i>Amaranthus viridis</i>)

In recent time Bangladesh faces a serious problem of soil pollution due to plastic contamination. However, the degree of the extent to which the effects of plastics on plant growth occur is not properly identified. An experiment was conducted to measure the effects of mixed plastic (polyethylene and disposable plastic glass) on the growth of Amaranthus viridis. Different doses of mixed plastics (T0, T1, T2, and T3) were applied with a fixed amount of soil for each of the treatments e.g., T0 (control), T1 (10 gm mixed plastics/3kg soil), T2 (15 gm mixed plastics/3kg soil) and T3 (20 gm mixed plastic/3kg soil), and the growth response of Amaranthus viridis against plastic was observed for six consecutive weeks. The growth was measured in terms of plant height and girth diameter. The results showed that the presence of mixed plastic had a significant effect on the growth of Amaranthus viridis and particularly in treatment T3 (3 kg soil/20gm mixed plastic), the plants showed a slower growth response compared to control and the rest of the treatments applied in case of both plant height as well as girth diameter. The statistical analysis (one-way Analysis of Variance) also proved the significance of the treatments (p-values < 0.05) for six consecutive weeks. The experiment was successfully able to set an index on which plastics had their effects on the growth of green amaranth. In addition, the obtained data will be helpful in future research of the study in determining the possible effects of plastic on plant growth viz. green amaranth.

Microplastics pollution:Economic loss and actions needed

Microplastics originate from plastic bottles of water and soft drink,plastic bags,tire wear,plastic agricultural mulches and 3D printing[1,2].These small fragments of wastes being 1μm to 5 mm pollute the environment and threaten human health and ecosystem services including crops and others,leading to economic losses[1–3].It is predicted that by 2030,plastic productions will be leading environmental pollution in terms of carbon footprint and toxic chemicals[4],making U.S.the world’s largest plastic waste generator[5].Based on reports from the United Nations Environment Assembly(UNEA)and the United Nations Environmental Program(UNEP),plastics in the environment annually burden the global economy by$19 billion,causing concerns for long-term ecological sustainability and the Global Goals[6].It is reported that about 8.3 billion tons of plastic waste have been created,leading to 4.9 billion tons discarded through landfilling globally[7],causing a yearly financial loss of more than$13 billion[8].

加快“以竹代塑”绿色产业发展的市场供需对接机制研究

我国为全球“以竹代塑”的倡导国,也是“以竹代塑”的引领国,正在加快“以竹代塑”发展,以应对气候变化和减少塑料污染,拓展绿色经济发展路径。我国“以竹代塑”产品供需关系正在建立,但供需对接机制仍不健全,存在“供有需小”“供无需有”等问题,主要原因在于供给侧难以满足需求侧要求以及供需两侧信息不畅通和市场交易不便捷。本文建议从供需两侧共同发力,做强做精供给侧、做大做深需求侧、加强供需对接政策支持,推动“以竹代塑”的快速发展,打造新型绿色产业。

海洋塑料污染国际法规制的推进及中国参与

日益严重的海洋塑料污染已发展成为全球面临的仅次于气候变化的第二大环境危机。目前,全球海洋塑料污染治理的国际法律框架体系尚未建立,海洋塑料污染治理的国际法规制主要散见于《巴塞尔公约》等国际法文件中,法律治理存在规则碎片化、遵守与实施困难等多重困境,而有约束力的全球协议制定进程刚刚开启。未来,海洋塑料污染的国际法规制需要从强化不同规制规则之间的协调、推进国际立法、完善履约保障机制等多个方面作出改善。中国作为塑料生产和消费大国需要在国际和国内两个层面积极应对。在国际层面,推动不同涉塑国际法规则之间的协调和涉塑国际立法进程、有效促进海洋塑料污染规制规则的遵守与实施;在国内层面,加强技术创新、健全各类涉塑制度和完善国内立法等。

选择实验视角下塑料污染治理的农业生态价值评估——来自黑、豫、浙、粤、川五省的经验证据

塑料为农业生产带来了极大的便利,但其废弃物的不当管理也造成了严重的环境问题。为了科学评估塑料污染治理的农业生态价值,合理确定污染治理措施的优先序,优化塑料污染治理投入资源配置,论文设计了一个包括源头减量、回收利用、清理整治与价格等属性的选择实验,以黑、豫、浙、粤、川5省487份调研数据为例,利用条件Logit模型测算塑料污染治理的边际支付意愿与塑料污染治理价值的补偿剩余。研究表明:(1)受访农业居民在塑料污染治理特征属性上的偏好为:源头减量>清理整治>回收利用,其支付意愿分别为:32.79元/人、25.27元/人、15.78元/人;(2)通过补偿剩余测算,为解决塑料污染治理难题,受访农业居民污染治理支付意愿为147.68元/人。应逐步构建起“减量化—再利用—资源化”的塑料污染全生命周期治理体系,优先考虑源头减量和清理整治方面的治理措施。

塑料添加剂的环境迁移、毒性测试与风险筛查:进展与挑战

塑料和微塑料污染日益严峻,因此引发了对塑料添加剂释放现象的广泛关注,塑料添加剂在固废处置和回收过程中会大量向环境中释放。塑料添加剂种类繁多,功能多样,数量庞大,其复杂性使得其评估工作面临巨大挑战,尤其是目前塑料添加剂的风险评估工作尚未建立起完善的体系。本研究对现有塑料添加剂的释放迁移研究、毒性测试及风险预测方法进行梳理,并基于塑料添加剂在种类、功能、添加量、监管、数据可用性等方面对公开信息的塑料添加剂逐级筛查,最终从1万多种现有塑料添加剂中筛选出106种值得关注的未监管添加剂物质。然后综合以下4项危害性指标,包括基于QSAR模型预测的物质毒性作用方式和危害等级、各化学品机构评估的PBT/PMT性质(持久性、生物累积性、迁移性、毒性)、生态毒性数据可用性、是否纳入化学品未来评估计划(CoRAP,ECHA),使用毒理学优先指数(ToxPi)方法按照等权重计算综合得分并排序,通过层次聚类分析对其进行优先级分类,提出相应风险评估优先序和研究关注的建议。结果表明,这其中很多尚未监管的塑料添加剂物质的潜在生态风险可能被低估。最后,我们提出对微塑料未来的研究挑战应主要聚焦在填补危害数据缺口和技术方法空白,包括其迁移释放机制、环境转化、混合效应及对生态系统的潜在影响等方面。

农田地膜回收机械应用现状与发展

地膜覆盖栽培在我国农业生产中已被广泛应用,其为作物增产增收和保障我国粮食安全提供了重要支撑。随着覆膜年数和覆膜面积的不断增加,废旧地膜在土壤中的残留量逐渐增多,残膜污染已严重威胁到农业生产和自然环境,成为影响我国农业生产可持续发展的突出问题。本文对现阶段国内残膜回收技术及装备进行分析,总结归纳了苗期、秋后和播前收膜相关产品的特点,并对目前本领域的研究方向和发展趋势进行了总结和展望,提出了适用于我国国情的残膜机械化回收发展对策。

海洋塑料污染国际法规制及中国因应——以“全球塑料公约”谈判为视角

海洋塑料污染问题愈发引起国际社会的重视,通过海洋塑料污染国际法规制对海洋塑料污染问题进行治理已成为缓解海洋塑料污染危机的重要方式。海洋塑料污染国际法规制在经历了生成和发展阶段后,正在进入“全球塑料公约”谈判的关键阶段。结合已有“全球塑料公约”四次政府间会议谈判内容,其争议焦点主要体现在对塑料全生命周期管理方法的采用、发展中国家与发达国家利益的平衡、海洋塑料污染治理全球合作的实现和“全球塑料公约”执行保障机制的建立等方面。在后续“全球塑料公约”谈判进程中,我国应以“海洋命运共同体”理念为指导,强化我国在“全球塑料公约”谈判中的议题引领作用。同时,我国还可以“全球塑料公约”谈判为契机,适时推动东海、南海海洋塑料污染区域性立法进程,加强我国与法国、俄罗斯、日本、韩国等国家在海洋塑料污染治理中的双多边合作,并为全球海洋塑料污染治理贡献更加有效的国内立法实践。

进口再生塑料颗粒中特征污染物的筛选及污染特征研究

为了掌握进口再生塑料颗粒中污染物的污染特性,选取5种不同类型的进口再生塑料颗粒,基于来源及再生利用过程分析其可能含有的污染物类型,筛选出重金属、双酚类化合物〔包括四溴双酚A(BPA)与四溴双酚S(BPS)〕和挥发性有机物(VOCs)3种特征污染物进行污染特征分析。结果发现,5种再生塑料颗粒中检测出6种重金属,包括Cr、Mn、Pb、Cd、Cu、Hg,其中Cr、Mn、Pb的浓度相对较高;5种再生塑料颗粒中BPS的检出率达100%,BPA的检出率为20%~100%,且BPS浓度大于BPA,这可能与实际生产中使用BPS等代替BPA有关;5种再生塑料颗粒中检测出的VOCs中,除二氯甲烷外均为苯的同系物。研究结果可为塑料颗粒后续的再生利用提供基础数据支持,并有助于相关部门进一步规范进口再生塑料颗粒的管控。