Just How Much Microplastics Are There in Switzerland’s Waters?

Every year, 14,000 tons of plastic end up in Swiss soils and waters, in part in the form of microplastics: Particles in the micro to millimeter range. Microplastics comes from many sources, such as cosmetics or synthetic fiber clothing. The tiny particles are also produced by abrasion and decomposition of larger pieces of plastic, so-called macroplastics.

Due to their small size, microplastics particles readily enter waterways. Around 15 tons of microplastics enter Swiss rivers and lakes every year. Measuring their concentration in water is not an easy task, because the tiny polymer pieces are often difficult to distinguish from particles of natural origin, and their quantity varies greatly with the time and place of measurement as well as with the measurement method.

Seven most common plastics

In order to get an overview of microplastics pollution in the rivers and lakes of a larger region, for instance for all of Switzerland, measurements alone are often insufficient. That is why Empa researchers David Mennekes and Bernd Nowack have developed a model for the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) that can predict the concentration of microplastics in waterbodies nationwide.

Attached link

Taxonomy

• Micropollutants
• microplastics
• Microplastic ingestion