Key Facts:
- Microplastic pollution is an emerging environmental contaminant across the globe, with estimates that around three million tonnes of microplastics enter the Earth's environment each year which will take 50–600 years to completely degrade.
- Primary microplastics are synthetically manufactured to produce pharmaceuticals, personal care items, plastic goods and textiles. Secondary microplastics are generated due to the breakdown of plastic debris such as packaging, bags, and bottles.
- Recent studies showed that plastic recycling industries are one of the major sources of microplastic pollution – emitting around 14–5800 kg/year of microplastics into the environment.
- The majority of microplastics enter aquatic ecosystems through landfill leaching, direct dumping by humans, and runoff from transportation and wastewater treatment plants.
UNSW SMaRT Centre researchers have published a study revealing the shocking extent of microplastics pollution in Australia.
The study conducts a detailed review of the existing Australian research about microplastics in sediments, indoor air, road dust, fresh water, marine water, and living organisms.
Supported with funding from the Australian Government under the National Environmental Science Program's Sustainable Communities and Waste Hub, headed by SMaRT and Prof Veena, the study found:
- Microplastic pollution is an emerging environmental contaminant across the globe, with estimates that around three million tonnes of microplastics enter the Earth's environment each year which will take 50–600 years to completely degrade.
- Primary microplastics are synthetically manufactured to produce pharmaceuticals, personal care items, plastic goods and textiles. Secondary microplastics are generated due to the breakdown of plastic debris such as packaging, bags, and bottles.
- Recent studies showed that plastic recycling industries are one of the major sources of microplastic pollution – emitting around 14–5800 kg/year of microplastics into the environment.
- The majority of microplastics enter aquatic ecosystems through landfill leaching, direct dumping by humans, and runoff from transportation and wastewater treatment plants.
The study provides a broad and detailed overview of the issue of microplastic pollution in Australia. It examines the sources, distribution, entry pathways, and fates of microplastics, as well as their effects on living organisms (including humans) and the environment. Additionally, it explores various strategies and policies adopted by other nations to mitigate microplastic pollution.
It found:
"Microplastics pose significant threats to human health, biodiversity, and ecosystems. While several initiatives have been introduced across Australia to address plastic waste—such as the banning of plastic bags by Coles and Woolworths, restrictions on single-use plastics, the Victorian container deposit scheme, and the longstanding South Australian container deposit scheme—specific legislation targeting microplastics remains absent on a national scale.
"More comprehensive studies, particularly quantitative research, are needed to better understand the extent of microplastic generation from various sources, their impacts on Australia's environment and human health, and to develop tailored solutions. Such efforts should address aquatic pollution, which significantly affects cities near oceans and other water bodies.
"To reduce microplastic pollution, the Australian government could consider implementing the following legislative measures and policies:
- It is needed to define the micro/nano plastics clearly – and consider whether it includes more polymeric items like tyres etc. which are not traditionally thought of as plastic but are a large source for pollution and do contain plastic.
- Government legislation towards the industries should focus on redesign their goods, production process and machinery to use a minimal amount of plastic. Production methods should be also ensured that plastic products have minimal degradation during their use and at the end of the product life less volume of plastic waste ends up in the environment.
- Microbeads that are used in products such as personal care, cosmetics, detergents, and other cleaning goods should be replaced with other effective and safer materials.
- The utilisation of soft plastics products should be prohibited completely in all restaurants and home kitchens.
- Australia needs a specific clause addressing 'greenwashing' – it is a particular issue in this space. For example, the short-term recycling solutions, such as, using plastic waste in the road-based construction is a popular solution for utilising the problematic plastic waste. However, it can lead to long term microplastic problems.
- Requires the prevention and mitigation of adverse impacts from the production or import of the primary plastic products, feedstocks and precursors. The government should monitor how much primary plastics are produced and supplied in different form against the demand of the plastics so that it would not exit the national reduction targets. Any limit on production should include both natural and synthetic sources since plastic made from a natural feedstock (such as bio-based feedstock) can have a significant environmental impact. Recent studies indicates that, when the bio-based plastics are exposed to environment, it also creates significant amount of microplastics which are sometimes not fully degradable.
- Clear indication is needed for the chemicals of concern which generates microplastics, such as additives in the plastics. As a starting point, criteria for deciding what chemicals should be eliminated, minimized and regulated and identify those chemicals and polymers that are produced at a high volume and generates microplastics, and have significant adverse impacts on the environment or human health:
- As part of this, independent risk assessment is needed.
- A product-specific approach is required-as some polymers and additives might not be problematic in some products but are in other kinds of products. For examples, plastics storage containers for food handling and preparation should be examined critically.
- Micro/nano plastics are added in many products, such as cosmetics and drug delivery, must be identified and managed critically. May be in all cases, it is not possible to avoid but need to be restricted and, where appropriate, not allowed.
- Extended product responsibility (EPR)s needs to be designed judiciously, such as government in Australia must establish and operate an EPR systems that will promote the decentralised recycling facilities to incentivize recyclability in the remote and regional places. Legislation is needed to enhance the accountability for the EPR.
- Moreover, collective efforts of all stakeholders with greater focus by the scientific community should be emphasized. The government should also provide more funding exclusively for microplastics research and arranging training, workshop for academic, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to mitigate the looming threats of microplastics pollution.
Prof Veena said innovative practices and technologies - like enhanced plastics collection and recycling and SMaRT's own Plastics MICROfactorie Technology - are needed to help reduce the terrible impacts of plastics waste.
This comes after SMaRT's Plastics MICROfactorieTM Technology has been featured in a video and news story by German media titan Deutsche Welle amid the recent UN global plastic treaty discussions, which concluded last week without agreement.
To view the SMaRT publication: https://www.smart.unsw.edu.au/news-events/news/study-reveals-extent-microplastics-pollution-australia
Data from the Australian Plastic Flows and Fates Study National Report published by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment, and Water (DCCEEW), show:
- 3,922,900 tonnes of plastics were consumed in Australia.
- 2,849,000 tonnes of plastics reached end-of-life (EoL) in Australia.
- 412,500 tonnes of plastics were recovered, with 396,300 tonnes recycled and 16,200 tonnes sent to energy recovery.
- The national plastics recovery rate – being a combination of recycling and energy recovery – was 14.5%. This was an increase on the 2020–21 rate of 14.0%, which was underpinned in particular by strong growth in the recovery of business-to-consumer (B2C) packaging (consumer packaging), which has continuing good growth prospects over the next 5 years.
- The national plastics recycling rate was 13.9%, compared with 12.6% in 2020–21.
- The plastic packaging recovery rate was 25.7% (combined B2C and B2B packaging). The combined recovery rate of non-packaging plastics was only 6.0%.
- Of the 412,500 tonnes of plastics reprocessed in 2021–22, 267,700 tonnes (64.9%) was reprocessed in Australia and 144,800 tonnes (35.1%) was exported for reprocessing. This was an increase in total processing of 41,200 tonnes from the 2020–21 recovery of 371,300 tonnes. This increase was almost entirely due to an increase in the local reprocessing of packaging.
- Reprocessing capacity in Australia was an estimated 483,600 tonnes/yr at the end of 2022. Actual reprocessing in 2021–22 was 267,700 tonnes, or 55% of potential capacity.
- Planned new capacity over the next five years is 822,400 tonnes, or an increase of 170% over current capacity.
About us:
Founded in 2008 by ARC Laureate Fellow, Scientia Professor Veena Sahajwalla, the Centre for Sustainable Materials Research and Technology (SMaRT) at the University of New South Wales works with industry, global research partners, not-for-profits, local, state and federal governments, on the development of innovative environmental solutions for the world's biggest waste challenges.
The UNSW SMaRT Centre is renowned for pioneering the transformation of waste for use as a new generation of 'green' materials and products. We lead visionary research programs that foster innovation and promote collaboration with industry and end-users to ensure scientific advances are readily translated into commercially-viable solutions. SMaRT is building an unparalleled portfolio of new 'recycling science' knowledge and technologies that reform problematic wastes which are not usually subject to conventional recycling, thus ending up in landfill and stockpiles.
Veena is perhaps best known for her Green Steel invention and a range of other innovative technologies and products, including the SMaRT Centre's MICROfactorieTM technologies, as well as for her many years of media appearances and commentary, including as a judge on the ABC TV series, The New Inventors.
