Viruses survive in fresh water by ‘hitchhiking’ on plastic, study finds Intestinal viruses such as rotavirus were found to be infectious for up to three days by attaching to microplastics, research shows Dangerous viruses can remain infectious for up to three days in fresh water by hitchhiking on plastic, researchers have found. Enteric viruses that …
Continue reading “Viruses survive in fresh water by ‘hitchhiking’ on plastic, study finds”
A recent study conducted at the University of Montana’s Flathead Lake Biological Station confirmed microplastic pollution in Flathead Lake, which can be traced back to various types of human activity. The study, while not the first to identify microplastics in Flathead Lake, made important findings surrounding how much microplastic pollution is in the lake and where it originates. The research was led by FLBS visiting researcher Dr. Xiong Xiong from the Chinese Academy of Science’s Institute of Hydrobiology.
According to the study, which was recently published in the journal Environmental Pollution, Flathead Lake carries microplastic pollutants at levels similar to or higher than other lakes in similarly populated areas. Although the levels remain low in comparison to more populated regions, such pollution should still be of concern for residents of the area who drink, bathe and recreate in the water, researchers say. While microplastic levels are not yet high enough to indicate immediate human danger, the new findings are a sign of a growing problem that could have lasting implications for the Flathead’s ecosystems.
The National Ocean Service defines microplastics as “small plastic pieces less than five millimeters long which can be harmful to our ocean and aquatic life.” Once ingested by fish and other animals, they can carry toxins into the aquatic food chain and human food products. Significant concentrations of microplastics have also been found in drinking water systems. In the Flathead’s wide-ranging bodies of water, these pollutants have many origins.
Landfills and plastic waste disposal sites are the largest source of microplastic contamination at the mouth of the Flathead River. Microplastics are often picked up from these sites by water particles and carried into the water system. In addition to waste disposal, the researchers found that the everyday laundry cycle is dumping microplastics into the lake. Much of today’s clothing is made of synthetic fabrics that break into microscopic plastics in the wash. These plastics are transported into the water supply through home septic drain fields and community water treatment plants. Human activities in the water that involve plastic boats, ropes, floats and fishing line can also be cause for concern. Many of these recreational supplies are prone to degrading, adding further microplastics to the water.
“Plastics are a part of our daily lives and they’re embedded in all of the things that we do—in our economy, in our lifestyle. A consequence of that—because plastics don’t degrade—is that they show up everywhere we look,” UM Flathead Lake Biological Station director Jim Elser told the Beacon.
Despite these concerning findings, the researchers say there are many actions that can be taken to remedy increasing levels of pollution.
On an individual scale, adopting in-line washing machine filters, reducing one’s consumption of synthetic fiber materials and limiting single-use plastics can help decrease pollution. The study also suggests larger reforms such as improving plastic waste disposal procedures, strengthening education on the dangers of plastic pollution and improving wastewater treatment systems.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Interior Department announced that it will phase out single-use plastics at national parks and other public lands over the next ten years, a move that will curb plastic consumption in Northwest Montana. While the announcement addresses certain pollution sources mentioned in the FLBS research, the policy is limited to enforcement on federal lands.
To ultimately see larger scale changes, Elser said, “we need to start switching away and using less plastic.”
A recent study conducted at the University of Montana’s Flathead Lake Biological Station confirmed microplastic pollution in Flathead Lake, which can be traced back to various types of human activity. The study, while not the first to identify microplastics in Flathead Lake, made important findings surrounding how much microplastic pollution is in the lake and where it originates. The research was led by FLBS visiting researcher Dr. Xiong Xiong from the Chinese Academy of Science’s Institute of Hydrobiology.
According to the study, which was recently published in the journal Environmental Pollution, Flathead Lake carries microplastic pollutants at levels similar to or higher than other lakes in similarly populated areas. Although the levels remain low in comparison to more populated regions, such pollution should still be of concern for residents of the area who drink, bathe and recreate in the water, researchers say. While microplastic levels are not yet high enough to indicate immediate human danger, the new findings are a sign of a growing problem that could have lasting implications for the Flathead’s ecosystems.
The National Ocean Service defines microplastics as “small plastic pieces less than five millimeters long which can be harmful to our ocean and aquatic life.” Once ingested by fish and other animals, they can carry toxins into the aquatic food chain and human food products. Significant concentrations of microplastics have also been found in drinking water systems. In the Flathead’s wide-ranging bodies of water, these pollutants have many origins.
Landfills and plastic waste disposal sites are the largest source of microplastic contamination at the mouth of the Flathead River. Microplastics are often picked up from these sites by water particles and carried into the water system. In addition to waste disposal, the researchers found that the everyday laundry cycle is dumping microplastics into the lake. Much of today’s clothing is made of synthetic fabrics that break into microscopic plastics in the wash. These plastics are transported into the water supply through home septic drain fields and community water treatment plants. Human activities in the water that involve plastic boats, ropes, floats and fishing line can also be cause for concern. Many of these recreational supplies are prone to degrading, adding further microplastics to the water.
“Plastics are a part of our daily lives and they’re embedded in all of the things that we do—in our economy, in our lifestyle. A consequence of that—because plastics don’t degrade—is that they show up everywhere we look,” UM Flathead Lake Biological Station director Jim Elser told the Beacon.
Despite these concerning findings, the researchers say there are many actions that can be taken to remedy increasing levels of pollution.
On an individual scale, adopting in-line washing machine filters, reducing one’s consumption of synthetic fiber materials and limiting single-use plastics can help decrease pollution. The study also suggests larger reforms such as improving plastic waste disposal procedures, strengthening education on the dangers of plastic pollution and improving wastewater treatment systems.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Interior Department announced that it will phase out single-use plastics at national parks and other public lands over the next ten years, a move that will curb plastic consumption in Northwest Montana. While the announcement addresses certain pollution sources mentioned in the FLBS research, the policy is limited to enforcement on federal lands.
To ultimately see larger scale changes, Elser said, “we need to start switching away and using less plastic.”
Microplastics — tiny pieces of plastic less than five millimetres in size — have been found in marine and freshwater animals ranging from tiny zooplankton to large whales.
However, researchers are still struggling to understand the impact that microplastics are having on aquatic species.
Scientists have found that microplastics have the potential to cause harm to animals through pathways including replacing food and leaching added chemicals into their bodies. However, it’s unclear how much these effects are currently occurring in the environment.
Our recently published study explores how microplastics move within coastal marine food webs. We found that smaller animals feeding lower in the food web might be at greater risk from microplastic exposure than larger predatory animals.
Pollutants and food webs
Food webs are tangled networks of organisms feeding on each other. Where an animal is feeding within this tangled network is called its trophic position and may determine its exposure to pollutants.
For example, mercury pollution accumulates in the muscles of animals and is passed from prey to predators, reaching higher levels of concentration through the food web.
Read more:
Killer whales: why more than half world’s orcas are threatened by leftover industrial chemicals
This process is called biomagnification, and it’s why animals like tuna and salmon end up with potentially dangerous concentrations of pollutants.
Do microplastics biomagnify?
During the summer of 2018, we collected individuals — including clams, mussels, sea cucumbers, crabs, sea stars and fishes — across a food web from several sites around southern Vancouver Island.
A beach seine conducted to collect fish for the study. We found that most individuals had up to two microplastic particles in each of their guts and that the particles were mostly fibres.
(Kieran Cox), Author provided
We then determined the concentrations of microplastics found in the guts of the animals and the liver of the fishes and related these concentrations to each animal’s place in the food web.
The species of aquatic animals we analyzed for microplastic content and positions in the food web.
(Garth Covernton), Author provided
Animals higher in the food web did not contain greater concentrations of microplastics than animals lower in the food web, suggesting that biomagnification was not occurring.
Some of our past work has also shown a lack of evidence for biomagnification of microplastics. In that work, we compared microplastic concentrations in fish guts, reported in the scientific literature, with estimates of their place within food webs.
Some species might be at greater risk
Although we didn’t find evidence of biomagnification, we did find that concentrations of microplastics were higher for certain smaller species when compared to their body weight.
Microplastics did not increase at higher trophic levels — higher positions in the food web — according to a literature review.
(Garth Covernton), Author provided
This included filter feeding animals like clams, mussels and certain sea cucumbers, as well as a type of fish, the shiner surfperch. These fish might be ingesting more microplastics because the particles are similar in size and shape to their preferred food — small aquatic microorganisms like zooplankton and other small invertebrates.
However, the numbers of microplastics we found in all animals were less than two particles per individual on average. While this could mean that health risks to these animals are low, we have yet to understand how long-term exposure to low concentrations of microplastics could affect their health.
In our research, we were limited to studying particles greater than 100 microns in size — about the width of a human hair — as particles smaller than this are very difficult to study using a regular microscope. However, emerging methods may make them easier to investigate in the future. These smaller particles are potentially more toxic and we can’t rule out biomagnification at this scale, even if it’s not occurring for larger particles.
How are microplastics affecting aquatic food webs?
As microplastics pollution of the environment increases, we need to understand its possible effects to avoid potential ecosystem disasters in the future.
An aerial view of a lake with experimental enclosures where microplastics research is being conducted at the IISD-ELA, northwestern Ontario. Studying microplastics in natural freshwater labs will advance our understanding of how they might affect aquatic food webs.
(Garth Covernton), Author provided
Freshwater ecosystems, for example, are often more directly exposed to microplastics and can contain higher concentrations.
Researchers, including a member of our team, are currently conducting work at the International Institute for Sustainable Development’s Experimental Lakes Area to help understand how microplastics exposure might affect freshwater ecosystems and food webs.
This work, alongside the work of other researchers, should advance our understanding of how microplastics can affect aquatic ecosystems, especially the effects on the small animals at the base of food webs that might be ingesting more of these particles.
Instead of focusing solely on ramping up recycling, the Plastic Pollution Producer Responsibility Act would require companies to cut the amount of plastic in their packaging—and nudge them toward reusable alternatives.
[Illustration: Fast Company]
By
Instead of focusing solely on ramping up recycling, the Plastic Pollution Producer Responsibility Act would require companies to cut the amount of plastic in their packaging—and nudge them toward reusable alternatives.
[Illustration: Fast Company]
By
Microplastics are a menace. They’ve been found everywhere from the top of Mount Everest to melted Antarctic snow. Microplastics have even been found circulating in human blood. But perhaps the place where they are having the worst impact is in Earth’s oceans. Plastic is the single most common debris in the sea—often breaking down over time into tiny bits that are consumed by fish and capable of wreaking havoc on marine ecosystems.That’s why scientists have been working on a new method of getting rid of them for good: fish-shaped robots that can actually clean up the oceans while swimming.In a study published Wednesday in the journal Nano Letters, researchers at Sichuan University in China created a fish-bot made of a light-activated material that can absorb microplastics as it swims in water. The team believes the new bot could be used to transport pollutants to another location where they can be collected and properly disposed of. It could also be used for detecting and monitoring microplastics in harsher environments that humans can’t explore easily like the frigid waters of the arctic.“The proof-of-concept robot is demonstrated to emphasize its maximum swimming speed of 2.67 body length per second, whose speed is comparable to that of plankton,” the study authors wrote, adding that the speed outperforms similar soft robots.The fish-bot is made of a composite material that’s safe for marine environments and physically reacts when a near-infrared light laser is pointed at it. Blinking the laser on and off can cause the robot’s “tail” to flap back and forth, allowing it to mimic a real fish and swim. As it moves, microplastic material sticks to its body, much like suckerfish do to whales and sharks. On top of that, the material the Sichuan University researchers used can repair itself when cut—which means it’s effectively self-healing.While we’re still a long ways away from schools of fish-bots roaming the seas, this is still an innovative solution to the persistent problem of microplastics in our polluted oceans. It could one day provide a novel way of ridding some areas of the pollutant—just don’t eat one if you catch it on your line.
Scientists unveil bionic robo-fish to remove microplastics from seas Tiny self-propelled robo-fish can swim around, latch on to free-floating microplastics and fix itself if it gets damaged Scientists have designed a tiny robot-fish that is programmed to remove microplastics from seas and oceans by swimming around and adsorbing them on its soft, flexible, self-healing body. …
Continue reading “Scientists unveil bionic robo-fish to remove microplastics from seas”
Canada is banning the manufacture and importation of single-use plastics by the end of the year, the government announced on Monday, in a major effort to combat plastic waste and address climate change.
The ban includes checkout bags, cutlery, straws and food-service ware made from or containing plastics that are hard to recycle, with a few exceptions for medical reasons.
It will come into effect in December 2022, and the sale of those plastic items will be prohibited as of December 2023, the government said.
Restaurants and grocery stores worry about a supply of alternative products as the government announces details of its ban on single-use plastics. in Toronto. June 20, 2022.
Steve Russell | Toronto Star | Getty Images
Canada is banning the manufacture and import of single-use plastics by the end of the year, the government announced on Monday, in a major effort to combat plastic waste and address climate change.
The ban will cover items like checkout bags, cutlery, straws, and food-service ware made from or containing plastics that are hard to recycle, with a few exceptions for medical reasons. It will come into effect in December 2022, and the sale of those items will be prohibited as of December 2023 to provide businesses in Canada enough time to transition and to deplete existing stocks, the government said.
Single-use plastics make up most of the plastic waste found on Canadian shorelines. Up to 15 billion plastic checkout bags are used each year and approximately 16 million straws are used every day, according to government data.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who vowed in 2019 to phase out plastics, said the ban will eliminate more than 1.3 million tons of plastic waste over the next decade — the equivalent of 1 million garbage bags of trash.
Restaurants and grocery stores worry about a supply of alternative products as the government announces details of its ban on single-use plastics. in Toronto. June 20, 2022.
Steve Russell | Toronto Star | Getty Images
“We promised to ban harmful single-use plastics, and we’re keeping that promise,” Trudeau wrote in a tweet on Monday.
Canada will also prohibit the export of those plastics by the end of 2025 to address international plastic pollution.
“By the end of the year, you won’t be able to manufacture or import these harmful plastics,” said Steven Guilbeault, the federal minister of environment and climate change. “After that, businesses will begin offering the sustainable solutions Canadians want, whether that’s paper straws or reusable bags.”
“With these new regulations, we’re taking a historic step forward in reducing plastic pollution, and keeping our communities and the places we love clean,” Guilbeault said.
More from CNBC Climate:
Canada’s effort comes as countries begin to impose bans to combat the problem of plastics, which are made from petroleum and can take hundreds of years to decompose.
The United States is the world’s largest contributor of plastic waste, according to a 2021 congressionally mandated report. This month, the Interior Department said it will phase out the sale of single-use plastic products in national parks and other public lands by 2032.
Sarah King, head of Greenpeace Canada’s oceans and plastics campaign, said in a statement that Canada’s ban is a critical step forward, but “we still aren’t even at the starting line.”
“The government needs to shift into high gear by expanding the ban list and cutting overall plastic production,” King said. “Relying on recycling for the other 95% is a denial of the scope of the crisis.”
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Canada is banning the manufacture and importation of single-use plastics by the end of the year, the government announced on Monday, in a major effort to combat plastic waste and address climate change.
The ban includes checkout bags, cutlery, straws and food-service ware made from or containing plastics that are hard to recycle, with a few exceptions for medical reasons.
It will come into effect in December 2022, and the sale of those plastic items will be prohibited as of December 2023, the government said.
Restaurants and grocery stores worry about a supply of alternative products as the government announces details of its ban on single-use plastics. in Toronto. June 20, 2022.
Steve Russell | Toronto Star | Getty Images
Canada is banning the manufacture and import of single-use plastics by the end of the year, the government announced on Monday, in a major effort to combat plastic waste and address climate change.
The ban will cover items like checkout bags, cutlery, straws, and food-service ware made from or containing plastics that are hard to recycle, with a few exceptions for medical reasons. It will come into effect in December 2022, and the sale of those items will be prohibited as of December 2023 to provide businesses in Canada enough time to transition and to deplete existing stocks, the government said.
Single-use plastics make up most of the plastic waste found on Canadian shorelines. Up to 15 billion plastic checkout bags are used each year and approximately 16 million straws are used every day, according to government data.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who vowed in 2019 to phase out plastics, said the ban will eliminate more than 1.3 million tons of plastic waste over the next decade — the equivalent of 1 million garbage bags of trash.
Restaurants and grocery stores worry about a supply of alternative products as the government announces details of its ban on single-use plastics. in Toronto. June 20, 2022.
Steve Russell | Toronto Star | Getty Images
“We promised to ban harmful single-use plastics, and we’re keeping that promise,” Trudeau wrote in a tweet on Monday.
Canada will also prohibit the export of those plastics by the end of 2025 to address international plastic pollution.
“By the end of the year, you won’t be able to manufacture or import these harmful plastics,” said Steven Guilbeault, the federal minister of environment and climate change. “After that, businesses will begin offering the sustainable solutions Canadians want, whether that’s paper straws or reusable bags.”
“With these new regulations, we’re taking a historic step forward in reducing plastic pollution, and keeping our communities and the places we love clean,” Guilbeault said.
More from CNBC Climate:
Canada’s effort comes as countries begin to impose bans to combat the problem of plastics, which are made from petroleum and can take hundreds of years to decompose.
The United States is the world’s largest contributor of plastic waste, according to a 2021 congressionally mandated report. This month, the Interior Department said it will phase out the sale of single-use plastic products in national parks and other public lands by 2032.
Sarah King, head of Greenpeace Canada’s oceans and plastics campaign, said in a statement that Canada’s ban is a critical step forward, but “we still aren’t even at the starting line.”
“The government needs to shift into high gear by expanding the ban list and cutting overall plastic production,” King said. “Relying on recycling for the other 95% is a denial of the scope of the crisis.”
WATCH LIVEWATCH IN THE APP
