Managing the risks of microplastics when they don’t reach the ocean

Presentation by Dr Mike Williams (CSIRO)

Abstract

Millions of tonnes of organic waste materials, such as biosolids and composts, are land-applied in Australia for beneficial reuse due to their nutrient content and physical attributes These organic wastes, however, contain high loads of microplastics through contamination of their source materials. Future strategies for the regulation and management of microplastics in land-applied organic waste materials requires a consistent approach to their quantification and characterisation to properly define their risk. An overview of approaches for measuring microplastics in organic wastes to define their baseline quantities and how this can be used to understand their risks will be discussed.