Microplastics in waterways and wastewater: occurrence, detection, characterization and possible solution

Rapid increasing production and utilization of microplastics (MP), often defined as plastic particles <5mm, raise concerns about the environmental risks globally. Sadly, the huge usage of plastic products and poor management of plastic waste disposal lead to MP being ubiquitously found in aquatic water bodies, including rivers, lakes, estuaries, coastlines and marine ecosystems. Although MP don't pose acute fatal effects on living organisms, they can, however, cause chronic toxicity, which is considered as a key issue in long-term exposure. In recent time wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) is also considered an important point source of MP discharge. WWTPs are not designed to capture MP and therefore, a huge amount of MP load can be discharged without or inadequate treatment and can accumulate in the aquatic environment. There is an urgent need to tackle MP pollution; however, there is little information available on how to do so. This session invites contributions, but not limited to: available route of MP generation, analytical methods to detect and characterize MP in aquatic systems and WWTPs, possible fate and transport of MP in such streams, and finally control or removal of MP. Moreover, technological constraints and challenges in this area will also be discussed.