With the rapid development and democratization of the internet and smart phone industry, online food delivery services have become increasingly popular all over the globe, namely in China. One of the unfortunate drawbacks of these delivery services is that they mainly use single-use plastics as food packaging, therefore generating large amounts of disposable food containers to meet demand. Such plastic containers reach the end of their service life after a single meal, and are then discarded as plastic waste. The sheer amount of plastic food containers discarded in this manner exacerbates various environmental issues, including one that is invisible to the naked eye: microplastic pollution. This minireview summarizes the history of food delivery services in China, from orders made face-to-face to digital orders, as well as the consequences introduced by the tremendous amounts of plastic waste generated by the food delivery services. Microplastic pollution could be mitigated to a certain extent by improving the classification, handling and management of single-use plastic containers in China. Furthermore, additional studies focusing on microplastic pollution caused by food delivery services are needed, especially as the use of these services is on the rise worldwide.
- MeSH
- Water Pollutants, Chemical * analysis MeSH
- Microplastics * MeSH
- Environmental Monitoring MeSH
- Plastics MeSH
- Industry MeSH
- Environmental Pollution MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
- Geographicals
- China MeSH
Rivers and effluents have been identified as major pathways for microplastics of terrestrial sources. Moreover, lakes of different dimensions and even in remote locations contain microplastics in striking abundances. This study investigates concentrations of microplastic particles at two lakes in central Italy (Lake Bolsena, Lake Chiusi). A total number of six Manta Trawls have been carried out, two of them one day after heavy winds occurred on Lake Bolsena showing effects on particle distribution of fragments and fibers of varying size categories. Additionally, 36 sediment samples from lakeshores were analyzed for microplastic content. In the surface waters 2.68 to 3.36 particles/m(3) (Lake Chiusi) and 0.82 to 4.42 particles/m(3) (Lake Bolsena) were detected, respectively. Main differences between the lakes are attributed to lake characteristics such as surface and catchment area, depth and the presence of local wind patterns and tide range at Lake Bolsena. An event of heavy winds and moderate rainfall prior to one sampling led to an increase of concentrations at Lake Bolsena which is most probable related to lateral land-based and sewage effluent inputs. The abundances of microplastic particles in sediments vary from mean values of 112 (Lake Bolsena) to 234 particles/kg dry weight (Lake Chiusi). Lake Chiusi results reveal elevated fiber concentrations compared to those of Lake Bolsena what might be a result of higher organic content and a shift in grain size distribution towards the silt and clay fraction at the shallow and highly eutrophic Lake Chiusi. The distribution of particles along different beach levels revealed no significant differences.
- MeSH
- Water Pollutants, Chemical analysis MeSH
- Geologic Sediments analysis MeSH
- Lakes analysis MeSH
- Environmental Monitoring MeSH
- Particulate Matter analysis MeSH
- Plastics analysis MeSH
- Particle Size MeSH
- Wind * MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
- Geographicals
- Italy MeSH
Microplastics are abundant and widespread within the marine environment, being found in their highest concentrations along coastlines and within midocean gyres. Ingestion of microplastics has been demonstrated in a range of marine organisms. This process may facilitate the transfer of chemical additives or hydrophobic waterborne pollutants to biota. This review discusses the mechanisms of generation and potential impacts of microplastics in the environment.
The presence of microplastics (MPs) in the environment is a problem of growing concern. While research has focused on MP occurrence and impacts in the marine environment, very little is known about their release on land, storage in soils and sediments and transport by run-off and rivers. This study describes a first theoretical assessment of these processes. A mathematical model of catchment hydrology, soil erosion and sediment budgets was upgraded to enable description of MP fate. The Thames River in the UK was used as a case study. A general lack of data on MP emissions to soils and rivers and the mass of MPs in agricultural soils, limits the present work to serve as a purely theoretical, nevertheless rigorous, assessment that can be used to guide future monitoring and impact evaluations. The fundamental assumption on which modelling is based is that the same physical controls on soil erosion and natural sediment transport (for which model calibration and validation are possible), also control MP transport and storage. Depending on sub-catchment soil characteristics and precipitation patterns, approximately 16-38% of the heavier-than-water MPs hypothetically added to soils (e.g. through routine applications of sewage sludge) are predicted to be stored locally. In the stream, MPs < 0.2 mm are generally not retained, regardless of their density. Larger MPs with densities marginally higher than water can instead be retained in the sediment. It is, however, anticipated that high flow periods can remobilize this pool. Sediments of river sections experiencing low stream power are likely hotspots for deposition of MPs. Exposure and impact assessments should prioritize these environments.
Microplastics (MPs) are considered to be ubiquitous contaminants in freshwater ecosystems, yet their sources and pathways at the river catchment scale need to be better determined. This study assessed MP (55-5000 µm) pollution in a Mediterranean river catchment (central Spain) and aimed to identify the importance of wastewater as an environmental pathway. We sampled treated and untreated wastewaters, and raw and digested sludge from five WWTPs during two seasons. River water and sediments were sampled at three locations with different anthropogenic influences during three seasons. On average, 93% (47-99%) of MPs were retained by WWTPs. Concentrations in river water and sediment ranged between 1 and 227 MPs/m3 and 0-2630 MPs/kg dw, respectively. Concentrations strongly depended upon land-use, with pollution levels increasing significantly downstream of urban and industrial areas. Seasonality influenced the observed MP concentrations strongly. During high flow periods, higher water but lower sediment concentrations were observed compared to low flow periods. We estimate that 1 × 1010 MPs are discharged into the catchment via treated and untreated wastewater annually, which constitutes up to 50% of the total MP catchment discharge. Thus, we conclude that the wastewater system represents a major environmental pathway for MPs into Mediterranean rivers with low dilution capacity.
The present study is the first attempt to investigate the occurrence and distribution pattern of microplastics (MPs) in the beach sediments covering a 36 km long beach at Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy was used to identify the MP particles (>300 μm). The mean abundance of plastics in this study site was 8.1 ± 2.9 particles kg-1. The abundance of MPs in the sediments was found in the following order: Fragments>Fibers>Foams>Beads>Films. The most abundant polymer types were Polypropylene (PP) (47%) and Polyethylene (PE) (23%). Most of the PP was atactic, while the low-density and high-density PE were in the balance. A higher abundance of MPs was observed in the wrack line compared to the other zones across the shore. The designated public tourist spots corresponding to few sampling sites showed significantly (P < 0.05) higher MPs than the sites with no tourist activity.
- MeSH
- Water Pollutants, Chemical * analysis MeSH
- Geologic Sediments MeSH
- Microplastics MeSH
- Environmental Monitoring MeSH
- Plastics * MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
- Geographicals
- Bangladesh MeSH
In this study we have identified and characterized microplastic particles (MPs) found in six fish species of commercial importance in central Chile. The fish species belong to different trophic levels and were obtained from the oceanic and coastal habitats. To analyze MPs, the fish gastrointestinal content was extracted, analyzed and characterized using a microscopy equipped with Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The MPs found in fish samples were mainly constituted by red microfibers (70-100%) with sizes ranging between 176 and 2842 μm. Polyester, polyethylene (PE) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) were identified as the prevalent polymers detected. The coastal species showed the presence of microfibers with a higher size and abundance (71%) compared to oceanic species (29%), suggesting there is a greater exposure risk. These findings are consistent with results found in other investigations worldwide. However, further research is still needed to accurately establish the potential exposure risk for the public consuming these fish and the impact of MPs in the Chilean fishery activities.
- MeSH
- Water Pollutants, Chemical analysis metabolism MeSH
- Ecosystem MeSH
- Gastrointestinal Contents chemistry MeSH
- Environmental Monitoring methods MeSH
- Oceans and Seas MeSH
- Plastics analysis metabolism MeSH
- Seafood analysis MeSH
- Fishes metabolism MeSH
- Animals MeSH
- Check Tag
- Animals MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
- Geographicals
- Chile MeSH
- Oceans and Seas MeSH
There is an increasing awareness of the threats posed by the worldwide presence of microplastics (MPs) in the environment. Due to their high persistence, MPs will accumulate in the environment and their quantities tend to increase with time. MPs end up in environments where often also chemical contaminants are present. Since the early 2000s, the number of studies on the sorption of chemicals to plastic particles has exponentially increased. The objective of this study was to critically review the literature to identify the most important factors affecting the sorption of chemical contaminants to MPs. These factors include the physicochemical properties of both the MPs and the chemical contaminants as well as environmental characteristics. A limited number of studies on soil together with an increased notion of the importance of this compartment as a final sink for MPs was observed. Therefore, we assessed the distribution of model chemicals (two PCBs and phenanthrene) in the soil compartment in the presence of MPs using a mass balance model. The results showed a high variation among chemicals and microplastic types. Overall, a higher partitioning to MPs of chemical contaminants in soil is expected in comparison to aquatic environments. As sorption to a large extent determines bioavailability, the effects of combined exposure to chemicals and MPs on the toxicity and bioaccumulation in biota are discussed. Finally, some considerations regarding sorption and toxicity studies using MPs are given.
- MeSH
- Biological Availability MeSH
- Water Pollutants, Chemical analysis MeSH
- Models, Chemical MeSH
- Phenanthrenes analysis MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Environmental Monitoring MeSH
- Plastics analysis MeSH
- Polychlorinated Biphenyls analysis MeSH
- Soil chemistry MeSH
- Biota MeSH
- Environmental Exposure adverse effects MeSH
- Check Tag
- Humans MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
- Review MeSH
- MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Microplastics * adverse effects MeSH
- Health MeSH
- Environmental Pollution MeSH
- Check Tag
- Humans MeSH
- Publication type
- Popular Work MeSH
