The fight against microplastics
14. April 2022
Microplastics have been released into the aquatic environment in very big quantities since the large-scale production and use of plastics began in the 1950s.
Consequently, they have been found in freshwater and throughout the ocean, in water ecosystems, sediments and biota. This raises the question of whether or not there are potential negative effects on aquatic organisms, sufficient to cause an impact at the population level. It has also sparked concerns about the exposure of humans to microplastics, principally though the ingestion of contaminated food. (Extracted from: ICF Report for DG Environment of the European Commission).
All main environmental organizations worldwide are looking at options, new standards, or regulations for reducing the release of microplastics in the aquatic environment. (See documents from Bureau REACH, National Institute for Public Health, and the Environment (RIVM).
Microplastics is a term commonly used to describe extremely small pieces of plastic debris in the environment resulting from the disposal and breakdown of products and waste materials. The concern about microplastics centers on their potential to cause harm to living organisms in the water and to accumulate in rivers and soils. The definition for microplastics is a synthetic polymer-based material that is not liquid or gas, in a size less than 5 mm in all directions. They can have a variety of aspect ratios: near-spherical, sub spherical, irregular pieces, flakes, and fibres.
The main sources of microplastic emissions are coming from automotive tires, road markings, plastic pellets and the washing of synthetic textiles. Other identified sources with less impact are artificial turf infills, paints, some detergents and cosmetic products.
A combination of measures at the core in all these segments can reduce emissions to the surface water but is also important to consider other downstream measures such as capture in waste waters as this is expected to be the main pathway for microplastics to enter the enviroment.
Focusing on our flooring business, obviously our EPDM, TPV or SBR granules would be considered as microplastics but the use of SBR on the cushion layer in playgrounds and sport applications is helping to reduce quantities for one of the main sources released: automotive tires. A source of some concern would be infill applications for artificial turf fields that usually lose around 0.8% of infill material annually. With the dimensions and number of existing artificial turf sport areas worldwide that means a lot of tons released that may then enter drains, soil, or surface waters.
The organic natural alternatives such as cork, olives bones or coconut although a bit more expensive than SBR crumb rubber are a good performance solution for infill on artificial turf as the granules are standing-alone and would therefore avoid the spread of microplastics, but when mixed with Polyurethanes for bonded flooring applications, they would re-enter the microplastic category as the substance attached to the outer surface makes these granules inseparable from particles of microplastic.
Luckily with our flooring applications the granules are bound on a continuous carpet flooring, and they are normally not released in significant amounts. Even if the installation is not entirely correct and there are some granules crumbling, the amounts potentially released are quite below the emission coming from all other sources.
Regarding our flooring business, first thing first. Use the right proportion of binder and the one with the corresponding viscosity for the climatic conditions and you will avoid granules crumbling. If you are suffering from granules crumbling, you can always use a topcoat to seal it thus ending the process.
Using a geotextile membrane as a separation layer before laying the first cushion layer may be a good environmental recommendation. This could be an additional measure to protect the soil from any of the flooring materials and make things easier when material must be disposed at the end of its life cycle.
Other mitigation measures are simple to achieve during the design and construction of the surfacing area or the turf field; traps for drains, a tidy worksite with spills regularly cleaned up and a perimeter designed to prevent granules migrating outside of the area, are all rather simple yet effective measures.
Ultimately, the handling and disposal of infill or flooring materials at the end of life-cycle must be carefully considered and planned by the installers and owners in advance.
In conclusion we must try to remove the problem at the different sources.
Once microplastics are released into the environment there are several pathways they can take towards the aquatic environment and several sinkholes on these pathways that can retain them. There is still a considerable amount of uncertainty on how microplastics move around in urban and rural environments, especially when they are not directly released into the sewers.
Some microplastics that enter the sewage system can be captured in wastewater treatment facilities and captured with sludge, which is reconverted to land or incinerated, but to date, there is still no known method of removing microplastics from sewage sludge.
Unfortunately, some microplastics may also enter the aquatic environment directly without any being removed.
A lot of us may have children or grandchildren and we would like to think that we will leave them with a planet that they can enjoy as much as we have been able to do in our childhood and youth. This is a task that depends on all of us everywhere in the world and we should not wait for more demanding regulations or standards to tackle these issues.