Current Opinion in Microplastics

Dear Colleagues,

Microplastics (MPs) have been found in all environmental compartments such as seawater and freshwater bodies, municipal wastewater and urban runoff, agricultural soils, sediments, and air. The level of plastic debris, mainly as microplastics, in the environment is reaching unprecedented levels and there is worldwide concern about their adverse effects on both living organisms (including humans) and the environment.

This Topical Collection of Microplastics journal aims to publish original articles related to microplastics including: their sources, sinks, and environmental fate; potential effects on ecosystem services and human life; and mitigation measures to reduce their adverse effects. It is also vital to ensure that Microplastics also publishes articles that raises public awareness and builds effective science communication with all stakeholders (e.g., civil society, NGOs, government decision-makers, and industry) to convey specific messages related to threats and potential opportunities to reduce impacts from microplastics.

Topics include but are not limited to:

• Sampling, characterization, and quantification of microplastics;
• Microplastics and nanoplastics in soils;
• Ocean cleanup of plastics and microplastics;
• Marine debris and fishing gear—collection, recycling, fate, and cleanup;
• Plastic and microplastic pollution and associated contaminants;
• Plastic pellets in the environment—collection and mitigation;
• Microfibers and nanoplastics from textiles;
• Human health effects of microplastics and nanoplastics;
• Ecotoxicological effects of microplastics and nanoplastics;
• Biodegradable plastics and microplastics;
• Chemical and Biological recycling of waste plastics and microplastics;
• Mitigation of micro- and nano-plastic pollution in aquatic systems;
• Modelling fate and transport of plastics and micro- and nano-plastics in the environment;
• Modelling of the generation of secondary microplastics;
• Modelling of biodegradation and weathering of plastics and microplastics;

Legislation, policies and economic impactsBesides the submission of original research contributions and critical reviews, we encourage the submission of OPINION papers. These are defined as short articles that reflect the author’s viewpoints on a particular subject, technique, or recent findings. The structure is similar to a review; however, they are significantly shorter and focused on the author’s view rather than a comprehensive, critical review.

Prof. Dr. Nicolas Kalogerakis
Collection Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the Special Issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Microplastics is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.