Microplastics: Wastewater treatment plants key route into rivers

03 July 2018

Scientists from the University of Leeds measured microplastics concentrations up and downstream of 6 wastewater treatment plants and found that all of the plants were linked to an increase in microplastics in the rivers. In addition to exposing river ecosystems to the pollutants found in microplastics, a huge quantity continues to flow downstream and is then flushed into the ocean.
The study categorised the types of microplastics found, into pellets/beads, fibres and fragments/flakes. Fragments and fibres made up nearly 90% of the microplastics found. An article about the research is published in Environmental Science and Pollution Research (News Item ScienceDaily, 11 June 2018).
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