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Municipal wastewater effluent has been proposed as one pathway for microplastics to enter the aquatic environment. Here we present a broad study of municipal wastewater treatment plant effluent as a pathway for microplastic pollution to enter receiving waters. A total of 90 samples were analyzed from 17 different facilities across the United States. Averaging all facilities and sampling dates, 0.05 ± 0.024 microparticles were found per liter of effluent. Though a small value on a per liter basis, even minor municipal wastewater treatment facilities process millions of liters of wastewater each day, yielding daily discharges that ranged from ∼50,000 up to nearly 15 million particles. Averaging across the 17 facilities tested, our results indicate that wastewater treatment facilities are releasing over 4 million microparticles per facility per day. Fibers and fragments were found to be the most common type of particle within the effluent; however, some fibers may be derived from non-plastic sources. Considerable inter- and intra-facility variation in discharge concentrations, as well as the relative proportions of particle types, was observed. Statistical analysis suggested facilities serving larger populations discharged more particles. Results did not suggest tertiary filtration treatments were an effective means of reducing discharge. Assuming that fragments and pellets found in the effluent arise from the 'microbeads' found in many cosmetics and personal care products, it is estimated that between 3 and 23 billion (with an average of 13 billion) of these microplastic particles are being released into US waterways every day via municipal wastewater. This estimate can be used to evaluate the contribution of microbeads to microplastic pollution relative to other sources (e.g., plastic litter and debris) and pathways (e.g., stormwater) of discharge., (Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Plastics are as positively durable as they are easily breakable, almost impossible to mend and hard to get rid of. They promise eternal life, but their immortality may quickly turn them into the undead. This paper discusses the use and role of plastics in Ghanaian funerary contexts, specifically in a small-town community in the Ghanaian Volta Region. It investigates plastics' agency as materials that may potentially either contain death successfully or become uncontained matter out of place, just as the dead may become contained or left wandering among the living. Different perspectives on plastics are brought into focus, highlighting how attributed qualities and meanings play into the making of 'good' or 'bad' death. The paper shows that plastics and persons jointly become subject to moral and temporal assessments in the realm between good and bad, finitude and durability. Beyond the ethnographic case study, the paper discusses the political potential of death and plastics within the larger global context of a cultural economy that reflects the ongoing effect of colonialism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Over the last century the petroleum industry’s rapid growth has been accompanied by a steady flow of aggressively promoted petroleum-based products. The petroleumscape’s spatial expansion and visual representation achieved widespread citizen buy-in. Following World War II the use of plastic materials in the building industry significantly increased through efforts from architects and industry leaders. The House of the Future, built by MIT architects, the Monsanto Chemical Company, and Disneyland exemplified a modern lifestyle: clean, functional, and fun. The architectural and technocratic dream of a mass-produced, fully plastic house that seemed possible in the post-war years did not survive the subsequent commercialisation of the plastics industry in the 1960s and 70s.

This paper focusses on the presence of visible synthetic materials (plastics) and finishes from the 1960s in the interior of office buildings. Although the ongoing research on synthetic materials as art pieces is well developed, building components from the interior and exterior of Belgian patrimony have not yet been studied, and remain undervalued as integral components of heritage buildings. The research presented in this paper tackles this issue by examining two specialized Belgian journals, namely La Technique des Travaux and La Maison. A selection of case studies from these two journals was examined in-depth to assess general tendencies and obtain a thorough evaluation and validation of the visible plastic materials and finishes in the case studies: the floor, wall and ceiling finishes. The plastic elements of listed monuments have often been removed, and do not receive a similar level of protection to other materials. Plastic heritage is not valued and protected as a relevant part of recent historic architecture. This part of the built patrimony needs to be recognized with equal status and therefore conserved.

This paper focusses on the presence of visible synthetic materials (plastics) and finishes from the 1960s in the interior of office buildings. Although the ongoing research on synthetic materials as art pieces is well developed, building components from the interior and exterior of Belgian patrimony have not yet been studied, and remain undervalued as integral components of heritage buildings. The research presented in this paper tackles this issue by examining two specialized Belgian journals, namely La Technique des Travaux and La Maison. A selection of case studies from these two journals was examined in-depth to assess general tendencies and obtain a thorough evaluation and validation of the visible plastic materials and finishes in the case studies: the floor, wall and ceiling finishes. The plastic elements of listed monuments have often been removed, and do not receive a similar level of protection to other materials. Plastic heritage is not valued and protected as a relevant part of recent historic architecture. This part of the built patrimony needs to be recognized with equal status and therefore conserved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last century the petroleum industry’s rapid growth has been accompanied by a steady flow of aggressively promoted petroleum-based products. The petroleumscape’s spatial expansion and visual representation achieved widespread citizen buy-in. Following World War II the use of plastic materials in the building industry significantly increased through efforts from architects and industry leaders. The House of the Future, built by MIT architects, the Monsanto Chemical Company, and Disneyland exemplified a modern lifestyle: clean, functional, and fun. The architectural and technocratic dream of a mass-produced, fully plastic house that seemed possible in the post-war years did not survive the subsequent commercialisation of the plastics industry in the 1960s and 70s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]