All partners of the Tid(y)Up project are welcome to join in the first creative meeting of the project, namely the international Microplastic Workshop. Due to COVID, the event is going to be online.

'The goal is to discuss the details of the existing methods in each country' - said Dusan Milovanovic, organizer of the event - 'and to specify the details of the sampling and the assessment of microplastic in water bodies.'

Workshop is hosted by Tid(y)UP partner UNS (Serbia) and intended for representatives of PPs and ASPs only.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON MICROPLASTICS (source: PLastic Pollution of Rivers in the Danube Region)

Microplastics are tiny pieces of plastics ranging from 5 millimetres down to 100 nanometres in diameter.While mostly
reported in relation to marine species and lifeforms, microplastics can be found anywhere – from the deepest ocean
to the air – and their origin is not necessarily associated to plastic pollution of water. IUCN investigated the source of
microplastics based on two categories. Primary microplastics are plastics directly released into the environment in the
form of small particulates. 98% of primary microplastics is generated from land-based activities, and only 2% is generated
from activities at sea. The largest proportion of these particles stem from the laundering of synthetic textiles and from the
abrasion of tires while driving. The main pathways of these plastics into the ocean are through road runoff (66%), wastewater
treatment systems (25%) and wind transfer (7%). IUCN estimates that annually 1.5 million tonnes of primary microplastic
are released into the oceans. Secondary microplastics are microplastics originating from the degradation of larger plastic
items into smaller plastic fragments once exposed to the marine environment. This happens through photodegradation
and other weathering processes of mismanaged waste such as discarded plastic bags or from unintentional losses such as
fishing nets.