Microplastics in the environment

Plastic has become an integral part of our everyday life. However, plastic waste, including microplastics, leads to ecological and health problems. Still little is known about the magnitude of the problem. Eawag is therefore investigating the effects of microplastics in water and bodies of water and is developing solutions to reduce microplastic contamination.

There is a lot of plastic waste in the environment and in our waters: beverage bottles, plastic bags, packaging, straws and much more. Less well visible to the naked eye, but nevertheless no less common, are what are known as microplastics. This page provides information about what exactly microplastics are and what quantities occur in Swiss waters.

News

July 10, 2025

July 10, 2025To curb global plastic pollution and to make plastics safer and more sustainable, countries are currently negotiating a global treaty. A new study with participation from Eawag and Empa published in Nature provides a comprehensive and systematic overview of all chemicals that can be present in plastics, their properties, uses, and hazards. Moreover, the study also provides a scientific approach for identifying chemicals of concern. This allows scientists and manufacturers to develop safer plastics and policy makers to promote a non-toxic circular economy.

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May 21, 2025

May 21, 2025Tyre abrasion gets from the road into adjacent soils and affects soil organisms. A joint study by the Ecotox Centre, the aquatic research institute Eawag and the EPFL now shows that earthworms avoid soil that is heavily contaminated with tyre particles. However, the particles had no negative effects on the survival and reproduction of the animals.

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Events

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Contact

Dr. Ralf Kägi Tel. +41 58 765 5273 Send Mail
Prof. Dr. Kristin Schirmer Group leader and deputy head of department Tel. +41 58 765 5266 Send Mail

Experts

Last Name, First Name, Telephone, Mail Department Location
Dr. Kägi, Ralf
+41 58 765 5273, Send Mail
Process Engineering Dübendorf
Dr. Joss, Adriano
+41 58 765 5408, Send Mail
Process Engineering Dübendorf
Dr. Kroll, Alexandra
+41 58 765 5487, Send Mail
Ecotox Centre Dübendorf
Prof. Dr. Schirmer, Kristin
+41 58 765 5266, Send Mail
Environmental Toxicology Dübendorf
Dr. Contzen, Nadja
+41 58 765 6892, Send Mail
Environmental Social Sciences Dübendorf
Prof. Dr. Hofstetter, Thomas
+41 58 765 5076, Send Mail
Environmental Chemistry Dübendorf
Prof. Dr. Hollender, Juliane
+41 58 765 5493, Send Mail
Environmental Chemistry Dübendorf
Prof. Dr. Ingold, Karin
+41 58 765 5676, Send Mail
Environmental Social Sciences Dübendorf
Vollenweider, Stefan
+41 58 765 5427, Send Mail
Environmental Social Sciences Dübendorf

Further informationen