Microplastics

Silk offers environmentally friendly solution to microplastics problem

Researchers have found that low-grade silk can replace intentionally used microplastics in cosmetics, vitamins, agricultural chemicals and paints, offering a biodegradable, non-toxic alternative to pollution.

Viruses cling onto plastic to survive in freshwater

Microplastics in wastewater treatment plants carry intestinal viruses such as rotavirus up to three days and create significant health risks, a study finds.

Scientists detect microplastics in human blood for first time

A Dutch study published in the Environment International journal examined blood samples from 22 anonymous, healthy volunteers and found microplastics in nearly 80 percent of them.

‘Critical milestone’: UN member states confront plastic pollution

The WWF commends United Nations member states for taking a huge step towards fighting plastic pollution at the UN Environment Assembly on March 2, 2022, while remaining cautious about the roadmap ahead.

‘Omnipresence’: How far has the nanoplastics threat gone?

Contaminants that have emerged as a result of human activity continue to reach even the most remote parts of the world, with scientists recently finding decades old nanoplastics in the north and south pole.

Clogging waterways, choking animals: Why we need a global plastics treaty

Over 700 organisations across the globe have urged the United Nations to establish an international treaty to address plastic pollution ahead of a bloc meeting.

How microplastics contribute to antibiotic resistance

Antibiotic resistance causes illnesses to become more dangerous, costly and harder to treat. A group of engineers have linked microplastics to antibiotic resistance, one more reason to take plastics out of everyday use.

‘If plastic were a country, it would be fifth highest emitter in the world’

A material whose use has rapidly grown in the past century, plastic is a massive contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and ecological pollution, WWF warns.

Study says 14 million tonnes of microplastics on world's sea floor

The scientists, who published their findings in peer-reviewed journal Frontiers in Marine Science, said areas with more floating rubbish generally had more microplastic fragments on the sea floor.

The dangers of laundry: microplastics from synthetics polluting water, soil

A team from the University of California, Santa Barbara, has published an article in PLOS ONE warning of how laundering clothes made from synthetic fibres may contribute to microplastics in water and increasingly, soil.

Plastic particles in drinking water present 'low' risk - WHO

"The headline message is to reassure drinking water consumers around the world, that based on this assessment, our assessment of the risk is that it is low," Bruce Gordon of the World Health Organization says.

World marks Oceans Day amid concerns over plastic pollution

"Today, 13,000,000 tonnes of plastic leak into the oceans every year, what among other damage, kill 100,000 marine animals annually," the UN says.