CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

Plasticpollution research has experienced exponential growth in the last decade;however, Argentina concentrates more than 70% of their research in the last 4years. This review compiles regionalresearch on plastic pollution in water, soil, sediment, air and organisms inArgentina. It discusses current sampling, quantification, and plasticsidentification methodologies while analyzing levels, gaps, and opportunities. Researchin plastic pollution was mainly focused on the biosphere component (52.9%),followed by the hydrosphere component (29.4%), and finally the lithosphere component(17.7%), with less than 20% addressing multiple components simultaneously. Sixtypercent of this research was focused around microplastics, and less than 20%have considered multiple plastic debris sizes. Marine coastal species fromArgentina had higher levels of microplastics than organisms from other SouthAmerican studies, while microfibers were identified in 100% of the freshwaterorganisms studied. The lowest microplastic concentrations were found in lakesand in the Paraná and La Plata rivers, while the maximum concentrations werefound in Pampa´s streams. There was a lack of standardization in methodologyand unit expression in studies of sediment microplastics, which hinderscomparison between reports. Argentine scientists have created the nationalalliance called SciEnce for Plastic Impacts Argentina (SEPIA). SEPIA is anetwork which aims to systemize plastic pollution research, coordinatemethodologies, and enhance relationships with decision-makers, NGOs, and thegeneral public. Finally, a time gap was found between the designation of principalinternational multilateral agreements and the implementation of nationalregulations for plastic waste treatment, with a tendency to include advancedconcepts as Extended Producer Responsibility and Circular Economy.

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