Microplastics

A recent NIVA study shows that so-called “green” car tires, which are marketed as environmentally friendly, can actually be just as harmful to the environment as regular tires – and in some cases even worse.

UN Member States met in Ottawa 23-29 April to continue the negotiations for a global treaty to end plastic pollution. Researchers from NIVA are part of a network of 350 scientists informing the negotiations.

IMPASSE has studied the impacts of microplastics in agroSystems and stream environment. The project is now finished. 

MicroLEACH (Microplastics – Long-term Effects of plastics and Additive Chemicals on marine organisms) is an interdisciplinary four-year project funded by the Research Council of Norway (Marinforsk call) that brings together scientists from fields of microplastic and other particulate research, analytical chemistry, ecotoxicology and risk assessment

"Monitoring of microplastics in coastal areas, rivers and lakes" is a new monitoring program that aims to increase knowledge about the extent of microplastic pollution in Norway.

PAPILLONS' overall aim is to shed light on the sustainability of plastic use in European agriculture in terms of emissions of micro- and nanoplastics, leakage of their chemical additives, and the impact of this on the soil. Through novel applications of the latest in analytical chemistry, materials science, computer modelling and nanofabrication technologies, we elucidate the sources, behavior and impacts of particles at micro- and nanoscale.

Plastic pollution in freshwater environments is a pressing global concern due to its ability to accumulate in the environment. The long-term impacts of this pollution on freshwater ecosystems are still to understand. In PATTERN project, we aim to understand how plastics can influence nutrient composition and the natural exchanges in biological information, with a focus on the biofilms colonizing plastic’s surface. We aim to rate the environmental relevance of these processes and to assess the threshold at which plastic pollution disrupts freshwater ecosystem functioning.

PROLAND addresses the sources of plastic pollution in agricultural soils. In the project, four important sources that may add plastic pollution to farm soils will be investigated: sewage sludge, compost and biogas digestate, the use of agricultural plastics, and atmospheric deposition. Concentrations of plastic, the types of plastic polymers, and plastic-associated chemicals will be quantified in agricultural soils from different areas of Norway. Assessments of what risks the microplastics, plastic additives, and pesticides may pose to soil ecosystems will be considered. Various exposure and mobility studies will be carried out in the laboratory.

The screening programme is our first instance of investigating the occurrence of new types of pollutants. The results are used to assess the need for new regulations and whether the investigated substance should be included in the other monitoring programmes.

SINOPLAST II shall contribute to reduced plastic waste and marine litter originating from China. The project partners shall achieve this through establishing a whole life-cycle framework for plastics for policy makers, improving the capacity for integrated land-ocean management of plastics, and through improving the knowledge of plastics from a global perspective. The project will thus support the implementation of the new global plastics treaty.

NIVA has a broad research community that develops new knowledge about pollution.