ASSESSMENT OF MICROPLASTICS IN THE ENVIRONMENT - FIBRES: THE DISREGARDED TWIN?

The pollution of plastics into the environment is considered one of the major challenges of the current century. In particular, microplastic pollution is considered a significant threat to both human and animal life since removal is almost impossible once these plastic particles make their way into the environment. Unfortunately, when scholars evaluate microplastic contamination in the environment, synthetic fibres are often disregarded. This approach is flawed, considering that a large part of clothing consists purely of synthetic fibres, meaning they are omnipresent in every part of human activities along with emissions. This work takes a critical view of state-of-the-art analysis methods for microplastics in soil, water and air, with a special focus on their ability (or inability) to detect fibrous materials. A case study in the form of a critical evaluation was carried out to highlight common problems when detecting microplastic fibres, focusing primarily on the sampling of large volumes of water. Another case study explores microscopy as a means to analyse solid specimens regarding microplastic contamination. Furthermore, the sources of fibre pollution and the pathways they take in the environment before ending up in the maritime system are explored. Finally, this work aims to create and enforce standardised methods addressing microplastic pollution, which would potentially solve many of the current associated problems.