The Faculty of Environmental Protection celebrates its first year of participation in the international project consortium PLASTIX – Plastics Revolution for European Regions, Interreg Europe Program, with the test launch of a prototype for microplastics identification in rivers.
Within the framework of the PLASTIX project goals, the Faculty of Environmental Protection collaborate with the Development Agency of Savinja-Šalek Region (SAŠA) to address the developmentally and environmentally relevant regional document SAŠA Regional Development Programme 2021-2027. With the professional knowledge and innovative research, we aim to make an important contribution towards achieving the strategic objectives for a low-carbon, green and connected SAŠA 2030 outlined in the tackled policy instrument. Additionally, in collaboration with other European partner regions (Tampere (Finland), Catalonia (Spain), Friesland (Netherlands), Lombardy (Italy)), we are also gaining new experiences and are learning about good practices in the field of industrial transition to the climate neutral and circular economy, as well as the growth of eco-innovations in the industrially very strong field of plastics.
Research at the faculty focuses on the investigation of potential presence of microplastics in rivers. We believe that monitoring microplastics in rivers is relevant for understanding the ecological and health risks associated with plastic pollution, identifying sources of pollution, informing policy decisions, and raising awareness of the need for sustainable practices to protect our freshwater ecosystems. In the two largest rivers of the Savinja-Šalek region, the Paka and the Savinja, we will monitor the potential burden of plastic particles. In addition, through a supporting study of socio-economic activities, we will identify potential causes of plastic particles in water bodies and develop proposals to achieve the strategic objectives of the document.
In the first year, we have explored and analyzed methodologies already used by researchers in different European regions and beyond, and used collected data to develop our methodology for sampling and analyzing microplastics and plastic waste. With the technical expertise of the College of Industrial Engineering Celje, we have developed our own prototype based on the use of a filtration system with a portable water pump. The advantage of such a system is the independence of the measurements from the water flow and sampling depth and the control over the amount of water filtered, which makes the measurements more accurate and representative.
On January 26th, 2024, we successfully tested the prototype and carried out its trial run on treated water from the Central wastewater treatment plant of the Šaleška Valley and on the Paka River. The testing represents an important turning point in the development of project activities in our region. We are now eagerly waiting to see what the analyses in the laboratory will show, where we are also testing different methods of treating water samples and preparing them for the detection and identification of plastic particles. The results will form the basis of our periodic monitoring, which will be tested at selected sites along both regional rivers over the next three years.
