Dam

Factsheet 7.1: Microplastics around dams - How do plastic particles behave in reservoirs?

Plastic is now ubiquitous not only in the sea but also in many inland waters. In certain areas, such as at barrages or in dams, the flow velocity decreases. As a result, the particles previously held in suspension by the current begin to sink to the bottom of the water and can then accumulate in the sediment.

MikroPlaTas

Microplastics in Dams and Reservoirs: Sedimentation, Spread, Effects
January 2018
September 2021

The spread of microplastics in rivers showed that along a given waterway there are sources as well as sinks. Thus, dams and reservoirs constitute important but until now hardly investigated parts of a water system that serve as examples for risk vs. usefulness of sedimentation of microplastics.

KuWert

Ship-Based Treatment of Plastics for the Implementation of Value Chains in Less Developed Countries as well as for the Prevention of Plastic Inputs into the Environment and Especially in Marine Ecosystems
August 2017
December 2019

The aim of the project was to develop concepts and preliminary planning for the implementation of an infrastructure for the collection, ship-based treatment, and marketing of plastic waste in order to reduce the input of plastic waste into the environment and marine ecosystems. The project's target regions were primarily less developed countries in the Global South.

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