Microplastic Compendium (MPC) – interactive website on plastic and microplastic pollution

Information source on the current state of knowledge on plastic and microplastic pollution as a global problem

The Microplastic Compendium (MPC) is a part of the Coastal Pollution Toolbox.

Landing page Microplastic Compendium

The MPC provides scientific data on sources and transport routes of plastic pollution in the environment. It provides information on production volumes and global market data related to the main polymer types and links these to international agreements such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). It also provides information on the complexity of accurately analyzing microplastics in the environment and guidance on assessing data quality. It also explains the release of chemical additives from microplastic particles and their role as a transport vehicle for pollutants (“Trojan horse”). The interactive website provides information on laws and guidelines for reducing the global plastic problem.

Experts from the UFZ, AWI and GEOMAR as well as external partners with a high scientific reputation contributed to the MPC under the leadership of the Institute of Environmental Chemistry and with significant participation of the Institute of Coastal Systems.

The MPC currently combines 25 expert contributions in such a way that this synthesis tool can make a scientifically sound contribution to meeting the challenges of coping with global environmental change, such as the pollution of the marine environment by microplastics.