Funder: EU/WWF Adria

Project leaders:

Aleksandar Vlajić, Head of the organization GRES (Group for the Development of Environmental Awareness)
Dr. Maja Raković, Senior Research Associate of the Department of Hydroecology and Water Protection, IBISS

Period: 2023-2025

Team members from IBISS:

Dr. Jelena Stanković
Dr. Momir Paunović
Dr. Nataša Popović
Dr. Stoimir Kolarević
Dr. Margareta Kračun Kolarević
Dr. Jelena Đuknić
Dr. Ana Atanacković
Dr. Jelena Tomović
Dr. Nikola Marinković
Dr. Stefan Anđus
Dr. Jelena Čanak Atlagić
Dr. Vesna Đikanović
Dr. Katarina Jovičić

Abstract

In Europe, the annual production of plastics is measured in tens of millions of metric tons (Plastics Europe, 2019).
The primary sources of microplastics (MP) are factory particles, fibrils (fibers) or spherical microparticles used in cosmetic products, in the textile industry, etc. The degradation of macroplastics under the influence of physical, biological and chemical processes produces MP, which is referred to as a secondary source. MP includes particles between 1 μm and 5 mm in size.
EU countries have recognized the presence of MP as a problem and have set the solution of excessive emissions as one of the priorities. In the Republic of Serbia (RS), there is still no regulation recognizing MP as a problem for the environment and human health, and no national monitoring has been established.
AquaμPlaS aims to contribute to solving this problem in the RS. It will consider the occurrence of MP particles in aquatic ecosystems, monitoring methodology and legislation, as well as the establishment of a national center for MP (microplastics.rs) within IBISS. AquaμPlaS builds on the IBISS results of the JDS3 and JDS4 expeditions and on scientific publications. The project proposal also aims to raise awareness of these pollutants as a burden on the environment and human health. We have defined objectives related to contributing to the networking of relevant institutions in the RS to exchange data on MP, to assess the real situation regarding this "new" environmental problem and to motivate decision makers to prepare legal frameworks.