SMaRT input to microplastics in coastal and marine environments research

UNSW SMaRT Centre researchers took part in a collaborative research project on microplastics, building on previous work in relation to the subject.

Entitled 'A field and laboratory manual for sampling, processing and reporting microplastics in coastal and marine environments pollution in Australia', the research report published by Frontiers in Marine Science presents a comprehensive guideline of harmonised and standardised field and laboratory approaches for microplastics.

Excerpt:

Global interest in microplastics is increasing, with numerous organisations collecting data on microplastics in the environment. However, disparate sampling, analysis, and reporting methods limit our ability to integrate data, hindering a global understanding of microplastic occurrence, effects and dynamics. Drawing on international directives and collaborations, we present a comprehensive guideline of harmonised and standardised field and laboratory approaches for microplastics in marine and coastal environments.

We aim to ensure data consistency and comparability, incorporating the latest methodological developments for investigating and monitoring microplastics in four environmental matrices: sediment, water, biota, and air. A participatory approach brought together 40 researchers with diverse experience, reflecting a broad range of regional and international research. 

We provide best practice recommendations for sample processing to isolate, quantify and characterise microplastics, along with effective quality assurance and quality control measures. We also include reporting and data release recommendations, to ensure consistency and comparability across datasets. This guideline is endorsed by Ocean Best Practices System. By following these guidelines, and incorporating workflows supporting Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR) data, diverse stakeholders and practitioners can generate harmonised data essential for decision-making, facilitating a collective ability to synthesise global datasets and support action on microplastics.

In conclusion, the development and dissemination of this manual represents a critical step toward harmonising microplastic research in Australia and globally. We encourage researchers, government agencies, and organisations involved in microplastic monitoring to adopt these standardised approaches and utilise the reporting checklist provided (Supplementary materials, Supplementary Table S2) to ensure consistent data generation. By working together to align methods and reporting standards, the scientific community can generate high-quality, interoperable data that supports meaningful comparisons, long-term monitoring, and informed management decisions. Furthermore, the manuals open-access nature (https://microplastics-field-manual.github.io) ensures that it remains a living document, open to updates and improvements as the field of microplastic research evolves.

This work was supported by the Marine and Coastal Hub, a collaborative partnership supported through funding from the Australian Governments National Environmental Science Program, and the SMaRT researchers were participating via the Program's Sustainable Communities and Waste Hub, headed by SMaRT and Prof Veena.

This comes after a recently published study in the prestige Elsevier journal Case Studies in Chemical and Environmental Engineering, which is a detailed review of the existing Australian research about microplastics in sediments, indoor air, road dust, fresh water, marine water, and living organisms.

Supported with funding from the Australian Government under the National Environmental Science Program's Sustainable Communities and Waste Hub, headed by SMaRT and Prof Veena, this earlier study found:

• Microplastic pollution is an emerging environmental contaminant across the globe, with estimates that around three million tonnes of microplastics enter the Earth's environment each year which will take 50–600 years to completely degrade.
• Primary microplastics are synthetically manufactured to produce pharmaceuticals, personal care items, plastic goods and textiles. Secondary microplastics are generated due to the breakdown of plastic debris such as packaging, bags, and bottles.
• Recent studies showed that plastic recycling industries are one of the major sources of microplastic pollution – emitting around 14–5800 kg/year of microplastics into the environment.
• The majority of microplastics enter aquatic ecosystems through landfill leaching, direct dumping by humans, and runoff from transportation and wastewater treatment plants.

The study provides a broad and detailed overview of the issue of microplastic pollution in Australia. It examines the sources, distribution, entry pathways, and fates of microplastics, as well as their effects on living organisms (including humans) and the environment. Additionally, it explores various strategies and policies adopted by other nations to mitigate microplastic pollution.

It found:

"Microplastics pose significant threats to human health, biodiversity, and ecosystems. While several initiatives have been introduced across Australia to address plastic waste—such as the banning of plastic bags by Coles and Woolworths, restrictions on single-use plastics, the Victorian container deposit scheme, and the longstanding South Australian container deposit scheme—specific legislation targeting microplastics remains absent on a national scale.

"More comprehensive studies, particularly quantitative research, are needed to better understand the extent of microplastic generation from various sources, their impacts on Australia's environment and human health, and to develop tailored solutions. Such efforts should address aquatic pollution, which significantly affects cities near oceans and other water bodies.

• Moreover, collective efforts of all stakeholders with greater focus by the scientific community should be emphasized. The government should also provide more funding exclusively for microplastics research and arranging training, workshop for academic, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to mitigate the looming threats of microplastics pollution.

Prof Veena said innovative practices and technologies - like enhanced plastics collection and recycling and SMaRT's own Plastics MICROfactorie Technology - are needed to help reduce the terrible impacts of plastics waste.

Data from the Australian Plastic Flows and Fates Study National Report published by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment, and Water (DCCEEW), show:

• 3,922,900 tonnes of plastics were consumed in Australia.
• 2,849,000 tonnes of plastics reached end-of-life (EoL) in Australia.
• 412,500 tonnes of plastics were recovered, with 396,300 tonnes recycled and 16,200 tonnes sent to energy recovery.
• The national plastics recovery rate – being a combination of recycling and energy recovery – was 14.5%. This was an increase on the 2020–21 rate of 14.0%, which was underpinned in particular by strong growth in the recovery of business-to-consumer (B2C) packaging (consumer packaging), which has continuing good growth prospects over the next 5 years.
• The national plastics recycling rate was 13.9%, compared with 12.6% in 2020–21.
• The plastic packaging recovery rate was 25.7% (combined B2C and B2B packaging). The combined recovery rate of non-packaging plastics was only 6.0%.
• Of the 412,500 tonnes of plastics reprocessed in 2021–22, 267,700 tonnes (64.9%) was reprocessed in Australia and 144,800 tonnes (35.1%) was exported for reprocessing. This was an increase in total processing of 41,200 tonnes from the 2020–21 recovery of 371,300 tonnes. This increase was almost entirely due to an increase in the local reprocessing of packaging.
• Reprocessing capacity in Australia was an estimated 483,600 tonnes/yr at the end of 2022. Actual reprocessing in 2021–22 was 267,700 tonnes, or 55% of potential capacity.
• Planned new capacity over the next five years is 822,400 tonnes, or an increase of 170% over current capacity."

Veena encourages Australians to think about the durability and end-of-life destination of their purchases.

"Many products are really not going to be that durable. They're not going to last that long. They're probably going to end up in landfill." 

"We need to always think about how our purchasing power can actually make a real difference," she said. 

This comes after SMaRT's Plastics MICROfactorie^TM Technology has been featured in a video and news story by German media titan Deutsche Welle amid the recent UN global plastic treaty discussions, which concluded last week without agreement.

SMaRT Centre Director Prof Veena explains the role and importance of recycling tech innovation to help deal with the world's massive waste plastic pollution problem.

DW says: "Every minute, the equivalent of a truckload of plastic ends up in the ocean, and less than 10% gets recycled. Now, over 170 nations are in Geneva, trying to agree on a global treaty to tackle the crisis."

"Scientists at UNSW Sydney are pioneering microfactories — compact, modular units that recycle complex plastic waste from electronics into valuable materials like 3D printing filaments."

"While global plastic production reached 413.8 million metric tons in 2023, less than 10% is recycled. Plastic pollution harms ecosystems and human health, with studies showing accumulation in organs. Over 100 nations support a UN treaty to curb plastic production, seen as vital to addressing the crisis."

Watch the Deutsche Welle news story

While the Australian Government's Environment Minister Murray Watt said, "Australia is continuing our push for an end to plastic pollution across the world" and "we are determined to push for an effective and meaningful global treaty to achieve our goal of ending plastic pollution by 2040", the treaty negotiations have now failed.

Media is reporting that "the world’s attempt to forge a plastics treaty billed as the most important environmental deal since the Paris climate accord is falling apart after three years of talks."

"With negotiations due to end Thursday evening (today, 14 Aug), 184 nations gathered in Geneva remain deadlocked over basic definitions, the scope of the treaty and whether to limit plastic production at all."

Daily reports by Earth Negotiations Bulletin

In this story, Prof Veena talks about the SMaRT Centre and its industry partner IT asset management company Renew IT having built SMaRT's first commercially-run Plastics Filament MICROfactorie^TM that turns discarded hard plastics destined for landfill into valuable 3D printer feedstock.