Threats Underestimated in Freshwater Plastic Pollution: Mini-Review

Abstract

Plastic pollution is one of the most acute environmental topics of our time. While there is a great scientific effort to tackle this problem, it has not always been well-coordinated or properly targeted. In this short review we call for scientists to get involved in three crucial topics (threats) underestimated-or ignored-in freshwater systems: i) plasticspecies entanglement, ii) plastic as nesting material and iii) macroplastic debris coming from mismanaged household solid waste. Reducing the knowledge gaps between marine and freshwater environments will be crucial to solute the plastic pollution problem effectively and globally. Therefore, we make a plea here to reinforce research activities on these three issues in freshwater environments worldwide.

Active Packaging—Poly(Vinyl Alcohol) Films Enriched with Tomato By-Products Extract

“…The worldwide use of plastics and plastic packaging (~26% of the total plastics) represents an indispensable element of the global economy, with an overall financial worth of 260 billion USD in 2013 and with an increase in the estimated industrial production from 78 million tons in 2013 to 350 million tons in 2017 [2,3]. Although plastics present valuable functional advantages, like low cost, versatile design, and light weight, it also has a number of negative features, such as freshwater pollution [4] and ocean pollution [5]. Over 90% of plastics are made from fossil resources, which have a high impact on greenhouse gases (GHGs) and other serious adverse effects on the environment [6,7].…”

Poly(vinyl alcohol)-Based Biofilms Plasticized with Polyols and Colored with Pigments Extracted from Tomato By-Products

“…Within the worldwide use of plastics, packaging represents approximately 26% of the total plastics, an indispensable element of the global economy [4,5]. Although plastics present valuable functional advantages, like low cost, versatile design, or light weight, they also have a number of negative features, such as the long-term degradation of freshwater, oceans, and soil [6,7]. Given the harmful environmental effects of the current linear economy of plastics and the future material requirements for the growing global population that is estimated to reach nine billion by 2050, a major shift towards a sustainable plastics system based on renewable materials and energy, as well as recycling is essential [8,9].…”

A Trip Upstream to Mitigate Marine Plastic Pollution – A Perspective Focused on the MSFD and WFD

“…As of 2018, only 4% of publications related to plastic pollution have included a freshwater perspective, despite the fact that the majority of marine plastics are land-based (Wagner et al, 2018). Consequently, the robustness of estimates regarding the amount of plastic transported from rivers to the ocean (e.g., Lebreton et al, 2017;Schmidt et al, 2017), are limited by scarce field-data for freshwater systems (Blettler et al, 2018;Blettler and Wantzen, 2019). Schmidt et al (2017) argue that, for the reasons presented here, efficient prevention strategies for MPP must be based on clear, geographically representative understanding of pollution sources, pathways and fate.…”

“…For example, the Danube River is estimated to release 530-1,500 tonnes of plastic into the Black Sea every year (Lechner et al, 2014), while the Rhine annually transports roughly 20-31 tonnes of plastic to the North Sea (Van der Wal et al, 2015). It is important to note, however, that scarce field-data for freshwater systems limit the robustness of estimates regarding the amount of plastics transported by rivers to the ocean (Blettler et al, 2018;Blettler and Wantzen, 2019). The literature presented here is but a small representation of the magnitude of river systems' contribution to plastic litter in Europe's coastal and marine environment (Schmidt et al, 2017;Wagner et al, 2018).…”

“…The discovery of large litter depositories in secluded regions of the ocean, e.g., Great Pacific Garbage Patch, demonstrated plastics' transportability in the marine environment (Lebreton et al, 2018). However, plastics' lightweight and durable properties also facilitate their transport in the terrestrial environment, where they can accumulate in freshwater systems (Blettler and Wantzen, 2019). In response, effective mitigation efforts that target plastic pollution at its source, i.e., preventative measures rather than downstream reactionary measures, require a comprehensive understanding of the issue's spatial and temporal variability (Lebreton et al, 2017).…”