Environmental degradation and formation of secondary microplastics from packaging material: A polypropylene film case study

Huber, Miriam; Archodoulaki, Vasiliki‐Maria; Pomakhina, E. B.; Pukánszky, Béla; Zinöcker, Erich; Gahleitner, Markus

doi:10.1016/j.polymdegradstab.2021.109794

Cited by 35 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…While the highest particle counts were found in the finest fraction, it only represented a minor contribution to the total mass (Fig. 4B), which is in line with what for example Huber et al (2022) addressed for degradation of polypropylene from packaging materials and what Rasmussen et al (2021) reported for raw wastewater.…”

Section: Spatial Mp Distributionsupporting

confidence: 85%

Buoyant microplastics in freshwater sediments – How do they get there?

Molazadeh

Liu

Simon-Sánchez

et al. 2023

Science of The Total Environment

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Section: Spatial Mp Distributionsupporting

confidence: 85%

Buoyant microplastics in freshwater sediments – How do they get there?

Molazadeh

Liu

Simon-Sánchez

et al. 2023

Science of The Total Environment

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“…Differentiation of illegal acts from legal acts related to MMP is difficult. For example, secondary microplastics in the ocean mainly come from the decomposition of marine plastic waste under the actions of sunshine, wind, and current, the input of land-based plastic waste, the discarding of plastic waste from ships at sea, and the abandonment of floating devices in the aquaculture industry [ 59 ]. The most important sources of plastic pollution in oceanic environments are coastal cities, ports, shipping activities, coastal landfills.…”

Section: Discussion: Problems To Be Solved In Future International Un...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Scientific Uncertainty of Marine Microplastic Pollution and the Dilemma of Future International Unified Legislation

Li¹

2022

IJERPH

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Several countries or regions have issued bans on microplastic pollution. This paper conducted a textual analysis on the provisions of the referenced countries or regions, and it was noticed that most of the existing bans only regulate and control microbeads instead of legal rules regarding all types of marine microplastic pollution. Existing international conventions can solve some of the problems of marine microplastic pollution, but they cannot solve all of them. Scientific uncertainty of marine microplastic pollution leads to the dilemma of future legislation. Specifically, based on the theory of legal norms, there are several issues faced by future international uniform legislation. The basic elements of legal rules are the hypothesis, disposition, and sanctions. At present, the scientific uncertainty of marine microplastic pollution cannot establish the three elements (hypothesis, disposition, and sanctions) of legal rules, so the existing bans in various countries can only target microbeads, and it is difficult to regulate other types of marine microplastic pollution. Consequently, we conclude that the time for comprehensive legislation on marine microplastics pollution is not yet ripe.

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“…A model study of isotactic PP films, commonly used in packaging, was conducted to simulate the process of MP formation using UV. Shredding of the tested material into sub-millimeter particles was observed in less than 48 h. This allowed an estimation of the lifetime of this type of product between 9 months and 3.2 years, depending on the place and climate in which the waste is located [ 19 ]. In another study, in a simulated beach environment, 12 months of UV exposure and 2 months of mechanical abrasion to PP and PE resulted in the formation of approximately 6084 and 20 particles, respectively [ 137 ].…”

Section: Plastics Degradationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Microplastics are found in soil [ 10 ], freshwater [ 8 , 11 ], seas and oceans [ 12 ], snow [ 13 ], wastewater [ 14 , 15 ], air [ 16 ], plants [ 17 ], and animal organisms [ 18 ]. The formation of MPs is a global threat [ 19 ], as they can travel as far as 6000 km [ 13 ] and enter the trophic chain [ 2 ]. Such particles can contaminate food and beverages [ 5 , 20 ] ( Figure 1 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microplastics Derived from Food Packaging Waste—Their Origin and Health Risks

et al. 2023

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Plastics are commonly used for packaging in the food industry. The most popular thermoplastic materials that have found such applications are polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET), and polystyrene (PS). Unfortunately, most plastic packaging is disposable. As a consequence, significant amounts of waste are generated, entering the environment, and undergoing degradation processes. They can occur under the influence of mechanical forces, temperature, light, chemical, and biological factors. These factors can present synergistic or antagonistic effects. As a result of their action, microplastics are formed, which can undergo further fragmentation and decomposition into small-molecule compounds. During the degradation process, various additives used at the plastics’ processing stage can also be released. Both microplastics and additives can negatively affect human and animal health. Determination of the negative consequences of microplastics on the environment and health is not possible without knowing the course of degradation processes of packaging waste and their products. In this article, we present the sources of microplastics, the causes and places of their formation, the transport of such particles, the degradation of plastics most often used in the production of packaging for food storage, the factors affecting the said process, and its effects.

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Environmental degradation and formation of secondary microplastics from packaging material: A polypropylene film case study

Cited by 35 publications

References 45 publications

Buoyant microplastics in freshwater sediments – How do they get there?

Buoyant microplastics in freshwater sediments – How do they get there?

Scientific Uncertainty of Marine Microplastic Pollution and the Dilemma of Future International Unified Legislation

Microplastics Derived from Food Packaging Waste—Their Origin and Health Risks

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