Wastewater treatment plants: Fate, pathway and source of microplastic pollution

Abstract

Plastics, ubiquitous synthetic materials, saw a global production of about 390 million tonnes in 2022. Among their remnants, microplastics (MPs), particles from 5 mm to 1 µm. Whether intentionally designed small or resulting from larger plastic fragmentation, the exact sources of MPs remain ambiguous. Notably, wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are considered potential contributors of these particles to the environment. WWTPs play a crucial role in purifying wastewater from various sources, including households, industries, and urban runoff. These facilities encounter diverse waste materials, some of which fall outside their scope of treatment. Present treatment technologies, not designed for microplastics, facilitate the dissemination of these particles via final effluent discharge and the use of sewage sludge as fertilizer, potentially impacting water bodies and soils. Nevertheless, WWTPs are also underexplored as destination and potential sink for such particles. This project aims to investigate WWTPs as sites where microplastics may end and serve as channels for these particles to reach other environmental matrices. It systematically examines microplastics within WWTPs, alongside the impacts of the treatment process on the microplastics and inversely. A structured questionnaire captures habits that introduce MPs to WWTPs, offering cross-population insights. Within WWTPs, the goal is to observe the effects of distinct treatment stages on microplastic characteristics and distribution through seasonal analysis of wastewater and sludge samples. This project's findings highlight the influence of consumer habits on microplastic quantities and composition in wastewater. The complex dynamics within treatment facilities requires comprehensive consideration of various factors in MPs research. Inflowing microplastic numbers differ among WWTPs based on entry inflow, however, align closely when calculated according to their respective population. Robust data across different societies and identification of unexplored sources of MPs are crucial for accurate assessment and effective solutions to address local plastic pollution, aiming broader impacts.

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Identifiers

ORCID for Lupita Landeros: orcid.org/0000-0001-8404-7794

ORCID for Ian Williams: orcid.org/0000-0002-0121-1219

ORCID for Peter Shaw: orcid.org/0000-0003-0925-5010

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