Retrieval operations of derelict fishing gears give insight on the impact on marine life.

Abandoned, lost and discarded fishing gear (ALDFG), significantly impacts marine ecosystems and biodiversity by incidental capture known as ghost fishing. Such impacts were quantified during the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries' annual ALDFG cleanup operation in September 2023 by examining the characteristics of retrieved ALDFG and recording the taxonomically sorted catch abundance and biomass. A total of 307 specimens equaling 382 kg of biomass were caught in the recovered gillnets and king crab pots. Gillnets exhibited a 27.3 % greater catch abundance and 50.3 % higher biomass per ALDFG unit mass compared to king crab pots. Margalef, Menhinick, Simpson, Shannon, and Pielou diversity indices showed a more pronounced impact on species richness and biodiversity associated with recovered gillnets. This study introduces an approach to assess the impact of ghost fishing on ecosystems and biodiversity through ALDFG retrieval operations, instrumental in developing estimates of the total ghost fishing capture by ALDFG.

Generating environmental sampling and testing data for micro- and nanoplastics for use in life cycle impact assessment.

Ongoing efforts focus on quantifying plastic pollution and describing and estimating the related magnitude of exposure and impacts on human and environmental health. Data gathered during such work usually follows a receptor perspective. However, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) represents an emitter perspective. This study examines existing data gathering and reporting approaches for field and laboratory studies on micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) exposure and effects relevant to LCA data inputs. The outcomes indicate that receptor perspective approaches do not typically provide suitable or sufficiently harmonised data. Improved design is needed in the sampling, testing and recording of results using harmonised, validated and comparable methods, with more comprehensive reporting of relevant data. We propose a three-level set of requirements for data recording and reporting to increase the potential for LCA studies and models to utilise data gathered in receptor-oriented studies. We show for which purpose such data can be used as inputs to LCA, particularly in life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) methods. Implementing these requirements will facilitate proper integration of the potential environmental impacts of plastic losses from human activity (e.g. litter) into LCA. Then, the impacts of plastic emissions can eventually be connected and compared with other environmental issues related to anthropogenic activities.

A regression-based model to predict chemical migration from packaging to food.

Packaging materials can be a source of chemical contaminants in food. Process-based migration models (PMM) predict the chemical fraction transferred from packaging materials to food (FC) for application in prioritisation tools for human exposure. These models, however, have a relatively limited applicability domain and their predictive performance is typically low. To overcome these limitations, we developed a linear mixed-effects model (LMM) to statistically relate measured FC to properties of chemicals, food, packaging, and experimental conditions. We found a negative relationship between the molecular weight (MW) and FC, and a positive relationship with the fat content of the food depending on the octanol-water partitioning coefficient of the migrant. We also showed that large chemicals (MW > 400 g/mol) have a higher migration potential in packaging with low crystallinity compared with high crystallinity. The predictive performance of the LMM for chemicals not included in the database in contact with untested food items but known packaging material was higher (Coefficient of Efficiency (CoE) = 0.21) compared with a recently developed PMM (CoE = -5.24). We conclude that our empirical model is useful to predict chemical migration from packaging to food and prioritise chemicals in the absence of measurements.

High-quality collection and disposal of WEEE: Environmental impacts and resultant issues.

Life cycle assessment of the collection, transport and recycling of various types of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) in Norway shows that small amounts of critical materials (refrigerants, precious/trace metals) are vital for the overall environmental accounts of the value chains. High-quality recycling ensures that materials and energy are effectively recovered from WEEE. This recovery means that responsible waste handling confers net environmental benefits in terms of global warming potential (GWP), for all types of WEEE analysed. For refrigeration equipment, the potential reduction of GWP by high-quality recycling is so large as to be of national significance. For all waste types, the magnitude of the net benefit from recovering materials and energy exceeds the negative consequences of irresponsible disposal. One outcome of this may be widespread misunderstanding of the need for recycling. Furthermore, framing public communication on recycling in terms of avoiding negative consequences, as is essentially universal, may not convey an appropriate message. The issue is particularly important where the consumer regards products as relatively disposable and environmentally benign, and/or where the "null option" of retaining the product at end-of-life is especially prevalent. The paper highlights the implications of all these issues for policy-makers, waste collectors and recyclers, and consumers.