Call for expressions of interest in the EU campaign to measure the extent of microplastics in wastewater

The Joint Research Centre has launched a call for expressions of interest in joining a campaign to measure the extent of microplastics in urban wastewater.

While there has been much talk and speculation about the occurrence and risks of microplastics in water resources, including in drinking water, more scientific knowledge is required to understand the size of the problem.

To address this, the Joint Research Centre, has launched a series of activities including an EU-wide assessment on the occurrence of microplastics in wastewater, with the aim of estimating the input of microplastics from urban areas. This scientific and exploratory exercise is coordinated together with the Water Supply Sanitation Technology Platform (WssTP) and its members.

Water utilities and expert laboratories in the field of microplastics are invited to express their interest in joining this campaign by sending an email to JRC-H2OMicroplastics@ec.europa.eu.

The deadline for expressions of interest is 30 June 2019.

The following activities are envisaged as part of the campaign:

1. Expression of interest (30 June 2019)

1. Onsite Monitoring Workshop on a Wastewater Treatment Plant (5-10 selected teams) at the JRC Ispra site and in Milan (17-18 October 2019)

1. EU-wide monitoring exercise on 100-150 European Wastewater Treatment Plants (1 Nov 2019 – 15 Mar 2020)

1. Microplastics - What goes down the drainpipes - Workshop on 22 March 2020 (Pecha Kucha and/or TEDx presentations on occasion of the World Water Day) – Brussels or Zagreb (EU Semester 2020)

Further information