With the recent fracking boom causing low gas prices, fossil fuel companies are seeking other ways to bolster their profits—by making more plastic. Just as the world is starting to address its enormous plastic pollution problem, these companies are doubling down on plastic, with huge potential consequences for climate and the environment.
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Concern about contamination caused by microplastics is growing; owing to their abundance, ubiquity and persistence over time, microplastics pose a potential risk for organisms and ecosystems. Yet studies into their distribution in freshwater systems in both lakes and rivers and their effects on the organisms in these waters are few and far between, and there is very little information about their potential effect on the functioning of these ecosystems.
A Washington State University research team has found that nanoscale particles of the most commonly used plastics tend to move through the water supply, especially in fresh water, or settle out in wastewater treatment plants, where they end up as sludge, in landfills, and often as fertilizer.