Issue 11, 2019

Wastewater treatment plants as a source of plastics in the environment: a review of occurrence, methods for identification, quantification and fate

Abstract

Plastics accumulate in the natural environment due to their durability and low recycling volumes. Wastewater treatments plants (WWTPs) have been identified as important sources for the release of plastics into aquatic and terrestrial environments that may lead to further contamination. This review provides a comprehensive summary of current knowledge on plastic pollution from WWTPs. Specifically, this article presents the current status on the sources of plastics entering WWTPs via influent, the occurrence of plastics in WWTP influent, treated effluent and sewage sludge as well as the techniques used for sampling and analysing plastics in WWTP derived samples. The fate and transfer of plastics from WWTPs to aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems is also discussed. While various studies have reported the presence of plastics in WWTP samples, which have certainly improved our level of understanding on the fate of plastics within the WWTP treatment chain, many unanswered questions still remain. A major gap is the lack of standardized methods and robust analytical techniques for the sampling, identification and quantification of plastics including nano-sized plastics in WWTP derived samples, leading to the potential underestimation of total plastics. To aid comparison of data generated by different researchers, we advocate for the harmonisation of sampling approaches, extraction methods, analytical techniques and reporting units for plastics abundance. Future studies should focus on enhanced methods that can also include estimates of nano-sized plastics.

Graphical abstract: Wastewater treatment plants as a source of plastics in the environment: a review of occurrence, methods for identification, quantification and fate

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Critical Review
Submitted
21 Mai 2019
Accepted
09 Sep 2019
First published
11 Sep 2019

Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol., 2019,5, 1908-1931

Wastewater treatment plants as a source of plastics in the environment: a review of occurrence, methods for identification, quantification and fate

E. D. Okoffo, S. O'Brien, J. W. O'Brien, B. J. Tscharke and K. V. Thomas, Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol., 2019, 5, 1908 DOI: 10.1039/C9EW00428A

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements