Bridging Science & Policy for Sustainable Plastic Management
START
Introduction
The Global Issue of Microplastic Pollution
Addressing plastic pollution demands a dynamic, integrated approach. Science shall provide evidence-based information to guide the decision-making processes and to develop informed strategies that effectively mitigate plastic pollution’s adverse effects on ecosystems and human health. In this context, the LABPLAS project has identified the following areas to be tackled:
Info
Microplastics size definition
Microplastics size definition
The LABPLAS project supports the idea that a size category must have an upper and a lower boundary, with a more intuitive boundary aligned with the international system of units and compatible with the most common standard ISO mesh sizes. Therefore, the LABPLAS project proposes defining large microplastics as plastic particles in the size range 10 µm to 1 mm, and small microplastics as plastic particles in the size range of 1 µm to 10 µm.
Additionally, the LABPLAS project consortium is among the group of scientists that suggested the now generally accepted term, “small micro and nano-plastics (SMNP)”, needed to distinguish between plastic particles with different routes of exposure as particles larger than 10 µm are unlikely of crossing biological membranes.
Harmonize Sampling and Analytical Protocols
In addition to these, since many microplastics are smaller than 100 µm and their abundance increases as size decreases, the LABPLAS project identified the need to sample down to 10 µm using pump filtration, analysing as many samples as possible within the 10-1000 µm size class, to better understand the heterogenous distribution of microplastics, by sampling the entire water column, from the surface microlayer to sediments. To prevent contamination, filters are stored in glass, cleaned in controlled lab settings, and paired with control blanks for each sample. Other recommendations include:
Harmonize Sampling and Analytical Protocols
The lack of standardized, adaptable guidelines for sampling, identifying, and quantifying microplastics causes inconsistent data across studies, hindering the comparability of data and the establishment of global baselines to assess the true extent of plastic contamination and to develop effective mitigation strategies. Numerous papers on sampling, sample preparation, and analyses have been published in recent years. In 2023 the MSFD Technical Group on Marine Litter updated its detailed guidance on monitoring marine litter in European seas, referencing manta nets (300 µm), pump systems (300 down to 20 µm) for water, and grabs for sediments.
+ info
Promote Interlaboratory Comparisons and Development of Reference Materials
Promote Interlaboratory Comparisons and Development of Reference Materials
Encourage proficiency testing and collaborative studies to validate methods and enhance consistency across laboratories. Support the development of standardized matrix reference materials with uniform matrices for micro- and nano- plastic analysis. Implement strict contamination controls, as airborne particles, equipment, and even clothing can introduce extraneous plastics into samples and analytical blanks, leading to false positives or unreliable concentration readings.
Strengthen Regulatory Frameworks
Strengthen Regulatory Frameworks
Align EU environmental legislation with the latest scientific recommendations on plastic analysis and risk assessment, ensuring effective policymaking.
Enforce compliance across the plastic supply chain, including safety standards for imported plastic products in the EU, such as restrictions on hazardous additives.
• Enforce transparency
Enforce transparency
Adopt digital product passports, to enhance labelling by providing accessible and comprehensive information that fully discloses the product's chemical content, aiding consumer awareness and regulatory oversight.
Foster safer alternatives
Biodegradable plastics are intended to biodegrade in specific end-of-life environments, for example, agriculture mulch films intended to biodegrade in soil or compostable bags intended to degrade in composting facilities. As such, regulations should enforce stringent requirements to ensure that no adverse toxic effects will occur upon degradation.
On the other hand, biodegradable plastics can help reduce the accumulation of plastic in the environment when used in specific and relevant applications. However, the use of ambiguous terms such as biopolymers and bioplastics needs to be discouraged, and the existing labelling should be improved to enable informed consumer choice.
Boost funding and encourage collaboration between industry and researchers to develop safer, environmentally friendly alternatives to hazardous plastic additives, guided by a priori environmental and human health risk assessments.
Encourage complementary studies and assessments
Encourage complementary studies and assessments
Expand toxicity testing to cover the entire food chain in each ecosystem and assess contaminant bioavailability for accurate ecotoxicological insights. Use environmentally relevant microplastic concentrations and particles in laboratory studies. Study further the reputed longevity and environmental persistence of plastics in the context of plastic degradation through oxidation and fragmentation reactions.
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- Increase sample volumes and replicates when feasible despite economic, environmental, and time constraints. For instance, increasing the water volume filtered by pump filtration could help, though filters clog quickly, so several filters are needed.
- Account for seasonal factors like heavy rain or tidal fluctuations that influence plastic transport.
- Prioritize mass-based quantification alongside particle counts for monitoring, ecotoxicological studies, and risk assessment.
- Address variability in analytical techniques (e.g., spectroscopy, chromatography, and microscopy), which use varying detection limits and quantification approaches, by establishing a minimum threshold for the detection and quantification of plastics in different matrices, considering method-specific capabilities and environmental relevance.
- Detecting and characterizing nano-plastics require in particular highly sensitive instrumentation. Advancements in technologies such as pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) are being explored to enhance detection capabilities.
Bridging Science & Policy for Sustainable Plastic Management
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Transcript
Bridging Science & Policy for Sustainable Plastic Management
START
Introduction
The Global Issue of Microplastic Pollution
Addressing plastic pollution demands a dynamic, integrated approach. Science shall provide evidence-based information to guide the decision-making processes and to develop informed strategies that effectively mitigate plastic pollution’s adverse effects on ecosystems and human health. In this context, the LABPLAS project has identified the following areas to be tackled:
Info
Microplastics size definition
Microplastics size definition
The LABPLAS project supports the idea that a size category must have an upper and a lower boundary, with a more intuitive boundary aligned with the international system of units and compatible with the most common standard ISO mesh sizes. Therefore, the LABPLAS project proposes defining large microplastics as plastic particles in the size range 10 µm to 1 mm, and small microplastics as plastic particles in the size range of 1 µm to 10 µm. Additionally, the LABPLAS project consortium is among the group of scientists that suggested the now generally accepted term, “small micro and nano-plastics (SMNP)”, needed to distinguish between plastic particles with different routes of exposure as particles larger than 10 µm are unlikely of crossing biological membranes.
Harmonize Sampling and Analytical Protocols
In addition to these, since many microplastics are smaller than 100 µm and their abundance increases as size decreases, the LABPLAS project identified the need to sample down to 10 µm using pump filtration, analysing as many samples as possible within the 10-1000 µm size class, to better understand the heterogenous distribution of microplastics, by sampling the entire water column, from the surface microlayer to sediments. To prevent contamination, filters are stored in glass, cleaned in controlled lab settings, and paired with control blanks for each sample. Other recommendations include:
Harmonize Sampling and Analytical Protocols
The lack of standardized, adaptable guidelines for sampling, identifying, and quantifying microplastics causes inconsistent data across studies, hindering the comparability of data and the establishment of global baselines to assess the true extent of plastic contamination and to develop effective mitigation strategies. Numerous papers on sampling, sample preparation, and analyses have been published in recent years. In 2023 the MSFD Technical Group on Marine Litter updated its detailed guidance on monitoring marine litter in European seas, referencing manta nets (300 µm), pump systems (300 down to 20 µm) for water, and grabs for sediments.
+ info
Promote Interlaboratory Comparisons and Development of Reference Materials
Promote Interlaboratory Comparisons and Development of Reference Materials
Encourage proficiency testing and collaborative studies to validate methods and enhance consistency across laboratories. Support the development of standardized matrix reference materials with uniform matrices for micro- and nano- plastic analysis. Implement strict contamination controls, as airborne particles, equipment, and even clothing can introduce extraneous plastics into samples and analytical blanks, leading to false positives or unreliable concentration readings.
Strengthen Regulatory Frameworks
Strengthen Regulatory Frameworks
Align EU environmental legislation with the latest scientific recommendations on plastic analysis and risk assessment, ensuring effective policymaking.
Enforce compliance across the plastic supply chain, including safety standards for imported plastic products in the EU, such as restrictions on hazardous additives.
• Enforce transparency
Enforce transparency
Adopt digital product passports, to enhance labelling by providing accessible and comprehensive information that fully discloses the product's chemical content, aiding consumer awareness and regulatory oversight.
Foster safer alternatives
Biodegradable plastics are intended to biodegrade in specific end-of-life environments, for example, agriculture mulch films intended to biodegrade in soil or compostable bags intended to degrade in composting facilities. As such, regulations should enforce stringent requirements to ensure that no adverse toxic effects will occur upon degradation.
On the other hand, biodegradable plastics can help reduce the accumulation of plastic in the environment when used in specific and relevant applications. However, the use of ambiguous terms such as biopolymers and bioplastics needs to be discouraged, and the existing labelling should be improved to enable informed consumer choice.
Boost funding and encourage collaboration between industry and researchers to develop safer, environmentally friendly alternatives to hazardous plastic additives, guided by a priori environmental and human health risk assessments.
Encourage complementary studies and assessments
Encourage complementary studies and assessments
Expand toxicity testing to cover the entire food chain in each ecosystem and assess contaminant bioavailability for accurate ecotoxicological insights. Use environmentally relevant microplastic concentrations and particles in laboratory studies. Study further the reputed longevity and environmental persistence of plastics in the context of plastic degradation through oxidation and fragmentation reactions.
FOLLOW US!