The Importance of Water: Blog 9

 Are Microplastics a challenge for wastewater treatment? 

By: Avery Bohon 


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The plastic problem and the toll it has taken on the world’s ocean is massive. There is plenty of images shown in the news and on the internet that shows plastic waste covering the ocean and many marine aquatic animals suffering. Microplastics have been found everywhere: the bottom of seas and the tops of mountains, in the air that we breathe and in rainwater and they also run in our wastewaters. Because if their small size, Microplastics can easily enter the bodies of living things, and we don’t have enough research on the effects that they have on ecosystems and on people’s health. Most Microplastics come from textiles, plastic packages, cosmetics and car tires. So far it has been proven impossible to remove them once they have entered the environment. So the only way to fight the problem is to either block the main source or their “travel routes”. 




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