Plastics and microplastics in the oceans: From emerging pollutants to emerged threat

Occurrence and recovery of small-sized plastic debris from a Brazilian beach: characterization, recycling, and mechanical analysis

“…That comparison also shows the recovery potential of commodity resins, since the quantity of primary plastic waste generated almost corresponds to that of its production. Even without a statistical approach for collecting, our sampling revealed a similar relative count result to the global production estimation, contributing to the relationship between global plastic waste and marine environment debris (Avio et al 2017). .…”

“…Despite direct harm to several species, such as seabirds, fishes, turtles and whales (Tanaka et al 2013;Crawford and Quinn 2017a;Andrady 2017), small plastic debris also impacts on several stakeholders, such as the shipping, fishing and tourism industry (Sheavly and Register 2007;Jang et al 2014;Laglbauer et al 2014;Avio et al 2017). For instance, places of key importance in ecosystems' preservation, such as national parks, are created as areas of environmental protection besides having a significant contribution to the local economy (Begon et al 2006;Medeiros and Young 2011).…”

“…Primary microplastics are manufactured in different sizes for several direct applications, from exfoliant in personal care products to virgin pellets in the molding of plastic products (da Costa et al 2017;Andrady 2017). Secondary microplastics are the majority source of microplastics and correspond to small fragments which result from the breakdown of larger plastic parts (Cole et al 2011;Avio et al 2017).…”

“…In addition, the characteristics of polymeric chemical bonds that confer plastics their interesting manufacturing properties also make them susceptible to degradation, consequently losing their mechanical properties (Crawford and Quinn 2017b). For instance, among the commodity polymers that are frequently found as debris in marine environments is polypropylene (PP) (Avio et al 2017), which is liable to chain degradation from exposure to UV light (Niaounakis 2017a), as well as oxidation at high temperatures and abrasion from rocks and sand (Crawford and Quinn 2017b). Despite those abiotic factors, biotic circumstances also contribute to PP degradation, such as specific microorganisms (Cacciari et al 1993;Janda 2015) and fungi (Muenmee et al 2015).…”

Exploring biodegradable polymer production from marine microbes

“…However, unacceptable amount of microplastics is sunk into deep oceans. Increasing evidence on risk about the plastic contaminations in marine projects (National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, US (NOAA)) and the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD, 2008/56/EC) has contributed to political decisions in monitoring marine plastic contamination [17].…”