Academic journals beginning to set minimum requirements for measuring plastics in environmental samples

Environmental plastics research is a relatively new area of study. As with all new things, there is a learning curve. Researchers around the world are currently trying to identify and agree on the best ways to do this type of research, such as finding common sampling strategies, testing procedures, and detection methods. This is critical for developing results that can be accurately compared across research projects. Academic journals play an important role in this process, as a platform for debate and consensus-building.    

In November 2023 a high-profile multidisciplinary journal in environmental science, Science of the Total Environment (STOTEN) recently published an editorial describing the journal’s minimum requirements for measurement of plastics in environmental samples that must be met before the paper is considered for review and possible publication. It is now requiring authors to include a detailed protocol of sampling and sample preparation, identification of polymer types by appropriate spectroscopic techniques, and clarity around how the concentrations and particle size are reported in publications.

STOTEN also announced it will stop accepting articles that simply note the presence of plastics in the environment because it is well established that micro/ nanoplastics are ubiquitous. Instead, they want to help further advance the science of understanding “the transport within, fate, and effects on the environment or appropriate components of the environment.”