ABSTRACT
Microplastics in the environment are defined as a small piece of plastic with a size less than 5 mm in length, there as a result of plastic pollution. Microplastics purely originate in the environment due to human and industrial activities. Microplastic pollution has been characterized by the variety of products originating from packaging to cosmetics’ ingredients to synthetic clothing to wearables, and from plastic bags to bottles. Once the bulk of plastic products are discarded into the environment unregulated or uncontrolled, over a period of time natural storms, water runoff and winds disintegrate and break down large discarded plastics into smaller pieces known as microplastics which mostly end up in our oceans. Today single-use plastics account for >60% of all that is discarded and which ends up in microplastic form in the environment. However, there are now specific methods and protocols currently in practice to track, detect and remove them from the environment. Therefore, this chapter will discuss important aspects associated with microplastics, namely their definition and threat, their presence in ground water, their characteristics in wastewater, their presence in the overall ecosystem, their source detection and removal strategies, their physical detection and removal, and bio-based microplastic removal strategies. The chapter also highlights recent advances in the detection and treatment of microplastics.
