Improving the estimation of microplastic concentrations in freshwater environments

Microplastic (MP) contamination is a worldwide concern. Despite this, there is no standard method for assessing MP concentrations in rivers, which are the main entry points of MPs into oceans. This leads to arbitrary sampling and inaccurate assessments. Now, researchers have proposed a method that determines the appropriate number of samples for an accurate assessment of freshwater MP concentration. The method could greatly reduce the time and resources spent on MP surveys.