References

1. European Commission, A European Strategy for Plastics in a Circular Economy, 2018, pp. 1–24.
2. P. Loizia, I. Voukkali, A.A. Zorpas, J. Navarro Pedreño, G. Chatziparaskeva, V.J. Inglezakis, I. Vardopoulos, M. Doula, Measuring the level of environmental performance in insular areas, through key performed indicators, in the framework of waste strategy development, Sci. Total Environ., 753 (2021) 141974, doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141974.
3. A.A. Zorpas, Strategy development in the framework of waste management, Sci. Total Environ., 716 (2020) 137088, doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.137088.
4. O.O. Fadare, E.D. Okoffo, Covid-19 face masks: a potential source of microplastic fibers in the environment, Sci. Total Environ., 737 (2020) 140279, doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140279.
5. A.L. Patrício Silva, J.C. Prata, T.R. Walker, A.C. Duarte, W. Ouyang, D. Barcelò, T. Rocha-Santos, Increased plastic pollution due to COVID-19 pandemic: challenges and recommendations, Chem. Eng. J., 405 (2021) 126683, doi: 10.1016/j.cej.2020.126683.
6. GESAMP, Sources, Fate and Effects of Microplastics in the Marine Environment: A Global Assessment, P.J. Kershaw, Ed., (IMO/FAO/UNESCO-IOC/UNIDO/WMO/IAEA/UN/UNEP/ UNDP Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Environmental Protection), Rep. Stud. GESAMP No. 90, 2015, 96 p, doi: 10.13140/RG.2.1.3803.7925
7. J.N. Hahladakis, C.A. Velis, R. Weber, E. Iacovidou, P. Purnell, An overview of chemical additives present in plastics: Migration, release, fate and environmental impact during their use, disposal and recycling, J. Hazard. Mater., 344 (2018) 179–199.
8. European Commission - Eunomia, Investigating Options for Reducing Releases in the Aquatic Environment of Microplastics Emitted by (but not intentionally added in) Products, Interim Report, 2018.
9. W. Nocoń, K. Moraczewska-Majkut, E. Wiśniowska, Microplastics in surface water under strong anthropopression, Desal. Water Treat., 134 (2018) 174–182.
10. B. Mrowiec, Microplastic-environmental and drinking water problem, Desal. Water Treat., 186 (2020) 65–71.
11. A.A. Zorpas, C. Coumi, M. Drtil, I. Voukalli, P. Samaras, Operation description and physicochemical characteristics of influent, effluent and the tertiary treatment from a sewage treatment plant of the Eastern Region of Cyprus under warm climates, Desal. Water Treat., 22 (2010) 244–257.
12. A.A. Zorpas, C. Coumi, M. Drtil, I. Voukalli, Municipal sewage sludge characteristics and waste water treatment plant effectiveness under warm climate conditions, Desal. Water Treat., 36 (2011) 319–333.
13. S.A. Carr, J. Liu, A.G. Tesoro, Transport and fate of microplastic particles in wastewater treatment plants, Water Res., 91 (2016) 174–182.
14. S.A. Mason, D. Garneau, R. Sutton, Y. Chu, K. Ehmann, J. Barnes, P. Fink, D. Papazissimos, D.L. Rogers, Microplastic pollution is widely detected in US municipal wastewater treatment plant effluent, Environ. Pollut., 218 (2016) 1045–1054.
15. S.M. Mintenig, I. Int-Veen, M.G.J. Löder, S. Primpke, G. Gerdts, Identification of microplastic in effluents of waste water treatment plants using focal plane array-based micro-Fouriertransform infrared imaging, Water Res., 108 (2017) 365–372.
16. J. Talvitie, A. Mikola, M. Heinonen, A. Koistinen, How well is microlitter purified from wastewater? – A detailed study on the stepwise removal of microlitter in a tertiary level wastewater treatment plant, Water Res., 109 (2017) 164–172.
17. H.A. Leslie, M.J.M. van Velzen, A.D. Vethaak, Microplastic Survey of the Dutch Environment: Novel Data Set of Microplastics in North Sea Sediments, Treated Wastewater Effluents and Marine Biota, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, 2013. Available at: https://science.vu.nl/en/Images/IVM_report_ Microplastic_in_sediment_STP_Biota_2013_tcm296-409860.pdf
18. H.A. Leslie, S.H. Brandsma, M.J.M. van Velzen, A.D. Vethaak, Microplastics en route: field measurements in the Dutch river delta and Amsterdam canals, wastewater treatment plants, North Sea sediments and biota, Environ. Int., 101 (2017) 133–142.
19. R. Dris, J. Gasperi, V. Rocher, M. Saad, N. Renault, B. Tassin, Microplastic contamination in an urban area: a case study in Greater Paris, Environ. Chem., 12 (2015) 592–599.
20. S. Ziajahromi, P.A. Neale, L. Rintoul, F.D.L. Leusch, Wastewater treatment plants as a pathway for microplastics: development of a new approach to sample wastewater-based microplastics, Water Res., 112 (2017) 93–99.
21. I.E. Napper, A. Bakir, S.J. Rowland, R.C. Thompson, Characterisation, quantity and sorptive properties of microplastics extracted from cosmetics, Mar. Pollut. Bull., 99 (2015) 178–185.
22. I.E. Napper, R.C. Thompson, Release of synthetic microplastic plastic fibres from domestic washing machines: effects of fabric type and washing conditions, Mar. Pollut. Bull., 112 (2016) 39–45.
23. J. Sun, X. Dai, Q. Wang, M.C.M. van Loosdrecht, B.J. Ni, Microplastics in wastewater treatment plants: detection, occurrence and removal, Water Res., 152 (2019) 21–37.
24. F. Murphy, C. Ewins, F. Carbonnier, B. Quinn, Wastewater treatment works (WwTW) as a source of microplastics in the aquatic environment, Environ. Sci. Technol., 50 (2016) 5800–5808.
25. M. Simon, N. van Alst, J. Vollertsen, Quantification of microplastic mass and removal rates at wastewater treatment plants applying Focal Plane Array (FPA)-based Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) imaging, Water Res., 142 (2018) 1–9.
26. S. Magni, A. Binelli, L. Pittura, C.G. Avio, C. Della Torre, C.C. Parenti, S. Gorbi, F. Regoli, The fate of microplastics in an Italian Wastewater Treatment Plant, Sci. Total Environ., 652 (2019) 602–610.
27. J. Talvitie, A. Mikola, A. Koistinen, O. Setälä, Solutions to microplastic pollution – removal of microplastics from wastewater effluent with advanced wastewater treatment technologies, Water Res., 123 (2017) 401–407.
28. J. Talvitie, M. Heinonen, J.P. Pääkkönen, E. Vahtera, A. Mikola, O. Setälä, R. Vahala, Do wastewater treatment plants act as a potential point source of microplastics? Preliminary study in the coastal Gulf of Finland, Baltic Sea, Water Sci. Technol., 72 (2015) 1495–1504.
29. L. Yang, K. Li, S. Cui, Y. Kang, L. An, K. Lei, Removal of microplastics in municipal sewage from China’s largest water reclamation plant, Water Res., 155 (2019) 175–181.
30. G.A. Chatzistefanou, K. Krachtopoulos, A. Zafeirakou, A. Alexandraki, Microplastics in drinking water supply networks: identification techniques, reported measurements and health concerns, Seventh Int. Conf. Environ. Manag. Eng. Plan. Econ. (CEMEPE 2019) SECOTOX Conf., Mykonos, Greece, 2019.
31. A.S. Tagg, M. Sapp, J.P. Harrison, J.J. Ojeda, Identification and quantification of microplastics in wastewater using focal plane array-based reflectance micro-FT-IR imaging, Anal. Chem., 87 (2015) 6032–6040.
32. A.S. Tagg, J.P. Harrison, Y. Ju-Nam, M. Sapp, E.L. Bradley, C.J. Sinclair, J.J. Ojeda, Fenton’s reagent for the rapid and efficient isolation of microplastics from wastewater, Chem. Commun., 53 (2017) 372–375.
33. H. Lee, Y. Kim, Treatment characteristics of microplastics at biological sewage treatment facilities in Korea, Mar. Pollut. Bull., 137 (2018) 1–8.
34. H. Debellefontaine, M. Falcon, K. Fajerwerg, P. Reilhac, P. Striolo, J.-N. Foussard, Advanced Method for the Treatment of Organic Aqueous Wastes: Wet Peroxide Oxidation — WPO®, Laboratory Studies and Industrial Development, R.K. Jain, Y. Aurelle, C. Cabassud, M. Roustan, S.P. Shelton, Eds., Environmental Technologies and Trends, Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, 1997, pp. 299–312.
35. EPA, Microplastic in Danish Wastewater: Sources, Occurrences and Fate, Fast DNA Sequencing for Optimization of Wastewater Treatment Plants, The Danish Environmental Protection Agency, 2017.
36. E.A. Gies, J.L. LeNoble, M. Noël, A. Etemadifar, F. Bishay, E.R. Hall, P.S. Ross, Retention of microplastics in a major secondary wastewater treatment plant in Vancouver, Canada, Mar. Pollut. Bull., 133 (2018) 553–561.
37. R. Sutton, S.A. Mason, S.K. Stanek, E. Willis-Norton, I.F. Wren, C. Box, Microplastic contamination in the San Francisco Bay, California, USA, Mar. Pollut. Bull., 109 (2016) 230–235.
38. V. Hidalgo-Ruz, L. Gutow, R.C. Thompson, M. Thiel, Microplastics in the marine environment: a review of the methods used for identification and quantification, Environ. Sci. Technol., 46 (2012) 3060–3075.
39. R.M. Blair, S. Waldron, C. Gauchotte-Lindsay, Average daily flow of microplastics through a tertiary wastewater treatment plant over a ten-month period, Water Res., 163 (2019) 114909, doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2019.114909.
40. Y.K. Song, S.H. Hong, M. Jang, G.M. Han, M. Rani, J. Lee, W.J. Shim, A comparison of microscopic and spectroscopic identification methods for analysis of microplastics in environmental samples, Mar. Pollut. Bull., 93 (2015) 202–209.
41. S. Gündoğdu, C. Çevik, E. Güzel, S. Kilercioğlu, Microplastics in municipal wastewater treatment plants in Turkey: a comparison of the influent and secondary effluent concentrations, Environ. Monit. Assess., 190 (2018) 626, doi: 10.1007/s10661-018-7010-y.
42. M. Lares, M.C. Ncibi, M. Sillanpää, M. Sillanpää, Occurrence, identification and removal of microplastic particles and fibers in conventional activated sludge process and advanced MBR technology, Water Res., 133 (2018) 236–246.
43. M.R. Michielssen, E.R. Michielssen, J. Ni, M.B. Duhaime, Fate of microplastics and other small anthropogenic litter (SAL) in wastewater treatment plants depends on unit processes employed, Environ. Sci. Water Res. Technol., 2 (2016) 1064–1073.
44. K. Conley, A. Clum, J. Deepe, H. Lane, B. Beckingham, Wastewater treatment plants as a source of microplastics to an urban estuary: removal efficiencies and loading per capita over one year, Water Res. X., 3 (2019) 100030, doi: 10.1016/j. wroa.2019.100030.
45. Anaconda Software Distribution, Anaconda Doc., 2019. Available at: https://anaconda.com.
46. E. Wiśniowska, K. Moraczewska-Majkut, W. Nocoń, Efficiency of microplastics removal in selected wastewater treatment plants – preliminary studies, Desal. Water Treat., 134 (2018) 316–323.