Constructed wetlands, built to treat wastewater and stormwater runoff, act as a barrier preventing the spread of microplastics through the environment, a Griffith University-led study has found.
Published in Environmental Pollution, the researchers investigated the amount and distribution of microplastics in water and sediment at five constructed wetlands with stormwater and wastewater sources feeding into the wetlands.“Wastewater and stormwater are both critical pathways for microplastics to enter the aquatic environment,” says Hsuan-Cheng Lu, a Ph.D. candidate from the Australian Rivers Institute.
