PDF Publication Title:
Text from PDF Page: 009
The primary observations of microplastics types in the marine environment were identified to be PP, LDPE, HDPE and PET. The actual sources of these microplastics types are likely a combination of weathering of macroplastics and direct losses to the environment (i.e. as part of city dust, usage of cosmetics and personal care products, and textile washing). A notable exception are polymers related to tyres where, although estimated to be the largest loss of microplastics in this study, reports of observations of these plastics in the marine environment could not be retrieved. The lost plastic types were also related to information on the potential impacts of micro- and macroplastics in the marine environment providing an indication of the importance of different plastic losses. This allowed for identifying the hotspots in the plastic value chain. Indeed, hotspots were defined based on the estimates of (i) plastic losses to the environment; (ii) a screening review of findings of plastics in the oceans; and (iii) a review of potential impacts of different plastics on the marine environment.Problems of macroplastics mainly relate to ingestion of and entanglement in the plastic pieces by marine animals. The most problematic macroplastics types are bags, fishing lines and nets, and ropes which all correspond well with the estimated losses related to mismanaged waste, littering, and losses from marine activities. These losses also correlate well with findings of macroplastics in the marine environment. There are numerous potential impacts related to microplastics. Problems of microplastics relate to their ability to cause physical impacts, such as reducing activity/rate/capacity, inducing particle toxicity, adsorbing toxic pollutants, and transporting invasive species. Essentially all plastic types can cause physical impacts, where impacts are primarily related to particle size. PP, HDPE, LDPE and LLDPE, PP-fibers, and PET-fibers were found to be important in terms of microplastics lost to the environment. These microplastics are problematic due to their ability to cause physical impacts. Moreover, potential problems relate to intake of microplastics by marine organisms With a particular focus on marine environment where potentially hazardous substances may be carried with the microplastic. For instance, residual monomers or additives in the plastic or other chemicals sorbed to the plastics from the surrounding environment. The losses of or introduction of microplastics to the marine environment cannot be related to a specific sector or region. The introduction of microplastics can stem from losses during production of the plastics, or during use of plastic products (e.g. losses of microbeads or microfibers). Moreover, microplastics can be introduced to the marine environment via degradation of macroplastics lost to the environment during their use or end-of-life stage. Microplastics containing potentially hazardous additives or residual monomers were also identified as a hotspot. PVC, PUR and PAN were found to be the most problematic in terms of containing potentially hazardous residual monomers and additives. Moreover, toxicity from leachate from PVC and PUR has been evidenced in laboratory settings. PVC and PUR are primarily used in building and construction and PUR is additionally used in the transportation sector. Unfortunately, it was not possible to estimate the losses of plastics from these applications. Hence, more information on the disposal of construction and demolition waste and disposal of industrial and machinery waste is needed as losses of plastics, such as PVC and PUR, can pose a hazardous risk to the marine environment. In summary, for both macroplastics and microplastics, the main hotspots, in terms of potential impacts on the marine environment, were related to the use stage and the end-of-life stage of the plastic value chain. To reduce losses and potential impacts of plastics on the marine environment, it was therefore recommended to prioritise: i Focus on reducing loss of macroplastics from MSW, in particular plastic packaging. Initiatives should not be limited to the end-of-life stage; instead measures for reducing potential plastic losses at the end-of- life stage should be implemented along the entire plastic value chain. Particular focus should be on Mapping of global plastics value chain and plastics losses to the environment Executive summary | 7PDF Image | Mapping of global plastics value chain
PDF Search Title:
Mapping of global plastics value chainOriginal File Name Searched:
2018-plastics-global-hotspots.pdfDIY PDF Search: Google It | Yahoo | Bing
Development of a solar powered Electric Ship The Electricship website originally started off as a project to develop a comprehensive renewable, affordable, modular electric ship... More Info
Modular Boat Hull Composite The case for a unsinkable, modular composite hybrid boat hull... More Info
MS Burgenstock Hybrid Electric Catamaran Lake Lucerne Unique shuttle servicing Lucerne to the Burgenstock Resort... More Info
Ground Power Unit GPU Powered by Lithium Ion Batteries The goal of the Ground Power Unit is to provide a readily accessible, modular, ready-to-power solution for remote power... More Info
CONTACT TEL: 608-238-6001 Email: greg@electricship.com (Standard Web Page)