scholarly journals Plastic-degrading potential across the global microbiome correlates with recent pollution trends

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Zrimec ◽  
Mariia Kokina ◽  
Sara Jonasson ◽  
Francisco Zorrilla ◽  
Aleksej Zelezniak
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Management ◽  
Environmental Dna ◽  
Taxonomic Composition ◽  
Plastic Waste ◽  
Plastic Pollution ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Global Environmental ◽  
Dna Sampling ◽  
Microbiome Data ◽  
Country Specific

Poor recycling has accumulated millions of tons of plastic waste in terrestrial and marine environments. While biodegradation is a plausible route towards sustainable management of plastic waste, the global diversity of plastic-degrading enzymes remains poorly understood. Taking advantage of global environmental DNA sampling projects, here we construct HMM models from experimentally-verified enzyme sequences and mine ocean and soil metagenomes to assess the global potential of microorganisms to degrade plastics. By controlling for false-positives using gut microbiome data, we compile a catalogue of over 30,000 non-redundant enzyme homologues with the potential to degrade 10 different plastic types. While differences between the ocean and soil microbiomes likely reflect the base compositions of these environments, we find that ocean enzyme abundance might increase with depth as a response to plastic pollution and not merely taxonomic composition. By obtaining further pollution measurements, we reveal that the abundance of the uncovered enzymes in both ocean and soil habitats significantly correlates with marine and country-specific plastic pollution trends. Our study thus uncovers the Earth microbiome's potential to degrade plastics, providing evidence of a measurable effect of plastic pollution on the global microbial ecology as well as a useful resource for further applied research.

scholarly journals Policy and Legislations on Microplastics Pollution Management in Vietnam

2021 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nguyen Trung Thang ◽  
Duong Thi Phuong Anh ◽  
Nguyen Thi Ngoc Anh
Keyword(s):  
Waste Management ◽  
Environmental Protection ◽  
Solid Waste Management ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
Plastic Waste ◽  
Plastic Pollution ◽  
Integrated Solid Waste Management ◽  
Legal Documents ◽  
Global Environmental ◽  
Vision 2030

Plastic pollution has become a major global environmental problem. The amount of plastic waste, including microplastics discharged into the environment, is on the increase, causing harm to the environment, ecosystems, especially marine ecosystems, entering the food chain, and affecting human health. Recognizing the environmental risks of plastic waste, the State has issued many legal documents on plastic waste management such as the Law on Environmental Protection (2014, 2020); Law on Environmental Protection Tax 2010; National environmental protection strategy up to 2020, Vision 2030; National strategy on integrated solid waste management up to 2025, Vision 2050, among others. However, there are still many shortcomings to plastic waste management in Vietnam, e.g. there are no effective solutions in reducing, sorting, collecting, reusing, recycling and treating waste. More importantly, public awareness and understanding of microplastic pollution in Vietnam still need improving. Therefore, pollution caused by microplastics needs to be studied and evaluated in relation to its origin, current situation, impacts and management policies.

scholarly journals The United Nations Basel Convention’s Global Plastic Waste Partnership: History, Evolution and Progress

2021 ◽  
pp. 323-331
Author(s):  
Susan Wingfield ◽  
Melisa Lim
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Consumer Goods ◽  
Plastic Waste ◽  
Hazardous Wastes ◽  
Plastic Pollution ◽  
Terrestrial Environment ◽  
Global Environmental ◽  
Environmental Treaty ◽  
Environmentally Sound ◽  
Sound Management

AbstractThe pollution of our marine and terrestrial environment by plastic waste is one of the most pressing global environmental challenges faced today. Developing a circular plastic economy and limiting plastic pollution requires multilevel actions from different stakeholders including oil and petrochemical producers, plastic manufacturers, consumer goods companies, retailers, consumers, waste managers, waste management authorities, plastic recyclers and others. As well as cleaning up the enormous quantities of plastic waste already in our oceans and lakes, there is an urgent need to strengthen countries’ capacities to prevent, minimize and properly manage this waste. The Basel Convention, the most comprehensive global environmental treaty dealing with hazardous and other wastes, offers an important part of the solution. In addition to its provisions aimed at controlling the exports and imports of hazardous wastes and other wastes generated from households and ensuring their environmentally sound management, the Convention also seeks to tackle the problem at its source through prevention and minimization. With the addition of an amendment to the Convention specifically tackling plastic waste, and the establishment of a Plastic Waste Partnership, the Convention is positioned at the forefront in the fight against plastic pollution.

scholarly journals Building Collective Ownership of Single-Use Plastic Waste in Youth Communities: A Jamaican Case Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 412
Author(s):  
C. Andrea Bruce Clayton
Keyword(s):  
Primary Schools ◽  
Plastic Waste ◽  
Plastic Pollution ◽  
School Communities ◽  
Targeted Interventions ◽  
Collective Ownership ◽  
Global Environmental ◽  
Single Use ◽  
Teachers And Parents

Plastic pollution is a global environmental challenge with serious implications for human health. Most of the work on plastic waste to date has focused on assessing and mapping impacts and remedial activities, which are important but do not attempt to understand the attitude and behaviour of the consumer. The problem will only be resolved by changing behaviour to eliminate non-essential use of plastics and switch to less harmful alternatives, especially for Single-Use Plastic (SUP), which makes a disproportionate contribution to plastic waste. This study examines the attitudes and behaviour of teachers and parents/guardians in school communities as a step towards building collective ownership of SUP towards reducing the use of SUP. It establishes baseline data about attitudes and behaviour in four Jamaican primary schools. It examines the attitude of teachers and parents/guardians towards SUPs and uses cluster analysis to segment them based on attitude. The results identify the heterogeneous nature of groups within the same population and highlights the need for targeted interventions. This research can contribute towards the design of strategic interventions that will build a sense of collective ownership of the SUP problem and motivate effective changes in behaviour to minimise the use of SUPs in Jamaica.

Microplastic contamination in a conventional wastewater treatment plant in Thailand

2021 ◽  
pp. 0734242X2098205
Author(s):  
Katekanya Tadsuwan ◽  
Sandhya Babel
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plant ◽  
Environmental Concern ◽  
Liquid Fraction ◽  
Treatment Plant ◽  
Dry Weight ◽  
Plastic Waste ◽  
Sludge Sample ◽  
Global Environmental ◽  
Urban Wastewater Treatment

Plastic waste has become a global environmental concern. One type of plastic waste is microplastics (MPs), which can spread easily in the environment. Wastewater effluent is one of the land-based sources of MPs. This study investigates the amount of microplastic (MP) pollution in an urban wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in Thailand. Water samples were collected and examined to find the types, morphology and sources of MPs. Wastewater was filtered through a set of sieves ranging from 5 mm to 0.05 mm. Sludge samples were also collected to find the potential risk from the application of dried sewage sludge. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to confirm the types of MPs. The amount of MPs in the influent was 26.6 ± 11.8 MPs/L. More than one-third of MP particles were removed after a grit trap, followed by 14.24% removal in the secondary treatment. If the peak flow rate of the WWTP is reached, 2.32 × 109 MP particles can be released daily. The amount of MPs in a sludge sample was 8.12 ± 0.28 × 103 particles/kg dry weight. Dry sludge is one of the potential sources of MP contamination in agricultural soil. Most MPs in the liquid fraction and sludge sample were fibres. Results from FTIR analysis showed that the major types of MPs in the WWTP were polyester fibres, followed by polypropylene, polyethylene, silicone polymer and polystyrene. This finding indicates that a conventional WWTP may act as a path by which MPs enter the environment.

scholarly journals Beverage bottle capacity, packaging efficiency, and the potential for plastic waste reduction

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Becerril-Arreola ◽  
R. E. Bucklin
Keyword(s):  
Product Category ◽  
Plastic Waste ◽  
Waste Reduction ◽  
Plastic Pollution ◽  
Local Data ◽  
Pet Waste ◽  
Pet Bottles ◽  
Enormous Amount ◽  
Packaging Efficiency ◽  
The U.S

AbstractPlastic pollution is a pressing issue because authorities struggle to contain and process the enormous amount of waste produced. We study the potential for reducing plastic waste by examining the efficiency with which different polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles deliver beverages. We find that 80% of the variation in bottle weight is explained by bottle capacity, 16% by product category, and 1% by brand. Bottle weight is quadratic and convex function of capacity, which implies that medium capacity bottles are most efficient at delivering consumable product. Local data on PET bottle sales and municipal waste recovery validate the findings. A 20% shift in consumption from smaller to larger bottles could reduce the production of PET waste by over 10,000 t annually in the U.S. alone.

scholarly journals China’s plastic import ban increases prospects of environmental impact mitigation of plastic waste trade flow worldwide

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zongguo Wen ◽  
Yiling Xie ◽  
Muhan Chen ◽  
Christian Doh Dinga
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Trade Flow ◽  
Plastic Waste ◽  
Sharp Decline ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Global Environmental ◽  
Waste Trade ◽  
Treatment Structure

AbstractSince the late 1990s, the trend of plastic waste shipment from developed to developing countries has been increasing. In 2017, China announced an unprecedented ban on its import of most plastic waste, resulting in a sharp decline in global plastic waste trade flow and changes in the treatment structure of countries, whose impacts on global environmental sustainability are enormous but yet unexamined. Here, through the life cycle assessment (LCA) method, we quantified the environmental impacts of changes in the flow patterns and treatment methods of 6 types of plastic waste in 18 countries subsequent to the ban. In the short term, the ban significantly improved four midpoint indicators of environmental impact, albeit contributed to global warming. An annual saving of about 2.35 billion euros of eco-cost was realized, which is equivalent to 56% of plastic waste global trade value in 2017. To achieve global environmental sustainability in the long run, countries should gradually realize the transition from export to domestic management, and from landfill to recycling, which would realize eco-costs savings of about 1.54–3.20 billion euros.

scholarly journals Global environmental problems in the world

2020 ◽  
Vol 217 ◽  
pp. 11004
Author(s):  
Galina Semenova
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Environmental Problem ◽  
Global Environmental Problems ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Global Environmental ◽  
The World ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Harmful Substances ◽  
Pulp And Paper Industries ◽  
The Impact

Air pollution is an environmental problem that is familiar to residents of absolutely all corners of the earth. It is especially acutely felt by residents of cities where enterprises of ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, energy, chemical, petrochemical, construction, pulp and paper industries operate. In some cities, the atmosphere is also severely poisoned by vehicles and boiler houses. These are all examples of anthropogenic air pollution. The subject of the study is the emissions of carbon dioxide into the environment. The purpose of the study is to solve the problem of environmental pollution by harmful substances and preserve the ecology in the world. Methodology. The main indicators characterizing the impact on the environment - CO2 emissions in the global energy sector - have been systematized; two indicators have been identified that determine the level of atmospheric pollution. Results - the scale of the influence of atmospheric air pollution on human health and the entire ecosystem as a whole was revealed.

scholarly journals How important risk analysis of plastic pollution in coastal area? Case study in Masohi, Central Maluku

2020 ◽  
Vol 200 ◽  
pp. 02014
Author(s):  
Bachtiar W Mutaqin ◽  
Muh Aris Marfai ◽  
Muhammad Helmi ◽  
Nurhadi Nurhadi ◽  
Muhammad Rizali Umarella ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Awareness ◽  
Coastal Areas ◽  
Plastic Waste ◽  
Small Island ◽  
Marine Biota ◽  
Plastic Pollution ◽  
Short Period ◽  
Almost All ◽  
And Function ◽  
Interdisciplinary Study

Human pressure on the coastal and aquatic surrounding ecosystem in Indonesia, through plastic waste, is increasing, considering that 60 % of the approximately 250 million people live in the coastal areas. Plastic waste originating from human activities has become a massive problem in almost all the small island and coastal regions, especially in the eastern part of Indonesia. This condition is caused by poor waste management and a lack of public awareness in disposing of waste in its place, including in an area known as its marine biodiversities and marine tourism spots like Masohi in Central Maluku. Also, the composition of waste is dominated by plastic waste that cannot be decomposed in a short period, continue circulated on the ocean currents, and will be deposited in coastal areas. Furthermore, some plastic waste will break down into micro-plastics that pollute not only the environment but also marine biota, which are often consumed by humans. This situation profoundly affects the sustainability and function of aquaecosystem services in coastal areas. Therefore, a comprehensive policy and regulation, and interdisciplinary study for analysing vulnerable coastal ecosystem, and mitigating the potential risk of plastic pollution in Masohi, Central Maluku are essential to be conducted.

scholarly journals Pendidikan Lingkungan: Plastic Pollution Awareness di Desa Jatireja, Cikarang, Jawa Barat

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Filson M Sidjabat ◽  
Yunita Ismail ◽  
Evi Rismauli
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Education ◽  
Behavioral Change ◽  
Waste Treatment ◽  
Waste Utilization ◽  
Plastic Waste ◽  
Plastic Pollution ◽  
West Java ◽  
Education Community ◽  
The Government ◽  
Social Empowerment

Waste problems in Indonesia has reached a critical point that is contaminating many aspects in community. Poor waste management in land have an impact in water pollutions, rivers, and toward the ocean. This rivers and oceans pollution are become the spotlights for the world and the government. As a part of education community in West Java, President University has an important role to educati and find solutions relate with this issues, one of them is to implement Thidharma in the form of social empowerment in Jatireja Village. This environmental education activities was sharing knowledge about plastic waste treatment and management that can be conducted in household scale, and to encourage behavioral change and awareness among communities. Creative product of eco-brick was also implemented tas a part of waste utilization to make valueable product. Environmental education are needed to improve community awareness on plastic waste in Indonesia, especially in West Java.

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