1. March 2023

Outlook for World Water Day

In order to draw society's attention to the great importance of water and water availability, the UN decided in 1993 to declare March 22 every year as World Water Day. This is to both celebrate the importance of water and draw attention to the ongoing water and sanitation crisis. The motto of this year's World Water Day is "Accelerating Change together." Since every day is World Water Day for us, there is also a competition in addition to the outlook.
22. December 2022

Microplastics and Textiles – a state description

One of the main sources of direct microplastic entry into the environment is through the wearing and washing of synthetic textiles. The European Commission has identified the textile value chain as a key priority in the EU Circular Economy Action Plan and proposed key actions and measures that are set to be finalized by the end of this year. This blog will provide an overview of issues related to the synthetic textiles, the proposed pathways to target unintentional microplastic release, along with the associated challenges that must be addressed.
29. November 2022

Impact of microplastics on wildlife

Microplastics are a pervasive environmental pollutant affecting wildlife, ecosystem, and human health. Microplastics can be consumed at all trophic levels and transmitted along the food chain, resulting in numerous long-term detrimental impacts on wildlife and ecosystems across the world. We have gone through recent, state of the art research that has been done on microplastic impacts on wildlife in terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems, and summarize some of the main points in this blog.
10. November 2022

Microplastics and human health

Microplastics have been detected in human blood, lungs, and the placenta of unborn babies. Widespread exposure of humans to microplastics is undeniable. Understanding the impacts of microplastics (< 5 mm) and nano-plastics (< 1 µm) on environmental and human health and the identification of critical thresholds and characterization of hazards, are thus important steps towards effective microplastic management. This article looks at where our knowledge of microplastic impacts on human health currently stands, and the challenges faced.
4. May 2022

Education space WASoMI is online

How do polymers turn into plastic products, plastic waste or microplastics? What is the difference between primary and secondary microplastics? When was polyethylene invented? And what are elastomers? Answers to these and many other questions can be found in our new digital-real education space for waters without microplastics WASoMI (in German WASser ohne MIkroplastik = WASoMI) - open to everyone, free of charge and without advertising.