The MarILCA project is proud to announce the release of three new peer-reviewed papers. These publications mark a significant milestone in our mission to integrate the environmental impacts of plastic pollution and microplastics into the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) framework.
By developing new characterization factors and testing them across diverse sectors—from textiles to global fisheries—these studies provide the scientific community with the tools needed to quantify ecosystem damage more accurately.
1. New Characterization Factors for Microplastics Across Ecosystems
Published in the Journal of Cleaner Production, this study introduces regionalized characterization factors for microplastics across marine, freshwater, and terrestrial environments.
By aligning a new fate model with the UNEP-SETAC toxicity model (USEtox), the research team has enabled the quantification of ecosystem damage for multiple polymer types. This addresses a critical gap in Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA). While this provides a robust starting point for practitioners, the team is already working on an update to this method that will include even more comprehensive datasets.
Read the full paper: Journal of Cleaner Production
2. Assessing the Impact of Textile Microfibers
In a study published in Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management (IEAM), MarILCA researchers investigated the impacts of anthropogenic cellulosic microfibers (such as cotton, viscose, and rayon) compared to synthetic microplastics.
The research yielded three key insights:
- Sensitivity: Aquatic organisms show similar sensitivity levels to both cellulosic microfibers and synthetic microplastics.
- Persistence: Despite similar sensitivity, the characterization factors for cellulosic fibers are significantly lower because they degrade faster in the environment.
- Case Study Results: In a textile LCA, cotton microfibers did not significantly increase ecosystem damage, whereas polyester (synthetic) fibers showed a much higher impact due to their environmental persistence.
Read the full paper: IEAM Journal
3. Quantifying Plastic Emissions in Global Fisheries
The third study, appearing in the International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, focuses on the fishing industry —specifically anchoveta and cod fisheries.
By applying the latest MarILCA impact assessment developments, the team was able to highlight the substantial contribution of fishing gear and activities to marine plastic pollution. These results reinforce why it is essential for the fishing sector to include plastic emissions in their environmental footprinting to avoid underestimating their ecological impact.
Read the full paper: International Journal of LCA
A Step Toward Comprehensive Assessment
Together, these three contributions represent a major leap forward in making plastic pollution impacts operational within LCA. We would like to congratulate the authors and contributors:
Cecilia Askham, Alejandro Deville, Mafalda Silva, Ian Vázquez Rowe, Elena Corella Puertas, Nadim Saadi, Valentina Pauna, Francesca Verones, Ramzy Kahhat, Juliette Louvet, and Joris Quik.