The book provides a comprehensive overview of the effects of pollution by plastics on fresh water and seawater, and the resultant challenges when evaluating and managing plastic waste in the aquatic environment. In one of the chapters, BKV Project Manager Stephanie Cieplik explains the BKV model entitled "From Land to Sea: Model for the Documentation of Land-Sourced Plastic Litter".

 

The book "Plastics in the Aquatic Environment (Part I) - Current Status and Challenges", published by Friederike Stock, Nicole Brennholt, Dr. Evgeniia Kostianaia and Georg Reifferscheid, forms part of the book series entitled "The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry". The book and the accompanying volume "Plastics in the Aquatic Environment (Part II) - Stakeholders' Role Against Pollution", is directed at students, researchers, political decision-makers and everyone working on projects to reduce the contamination of waterways with plastic waste. With 15 chapters, written by experts on the topic of marine litter, volume 1 gives a comprehensive overview of various aspects of plastic pollution in seawater and fresh water, and provides an insight into the current state of scientific environmental research in this field. The topics cover, for example, the challenges and limitations in the sampling and testing of microplastics, the presentation of new analysis methods for reliably determining the number of microplastic particles in environmental specimens, end-of-life scenarios for bioplastics, the effects of pollution by macro and microplastics on seas and other waterways, present-day waste management methods, and current possibilities for recycling and recovery. In the tenth chapter, BKV Project Manager Stephanie Cieplik presents the "From Land to Sea" model, which systematically documents for the first time the discharge of improperly disposed of plastic waste from Germany into the North Sea, Baltic Sea and Black Sea. Since it was first written in 2013, the study has seen several new versions as a result of fresh data and findings.

 

Further information: Book presentation by the publishers, Springer-Verlag.
Possibility to order the study "From Land to Sea: Model for the documentation of land-sourced plastic litter" (in German and English)

 

Sources:

• springer.com (12/2021)
• Photo: springer.com (book title)