Every time someone washes a synthetic shirt, thousands of microplastic fibers slip into wastewater. Every tire that wears on a road sheds particles. Every plastic bottle that fragments in a landfill becomes countless invisible pieces. The result: microplastics are now everywhere—in drinking water, soil, air, and even human blood. Recent research shows Toronto's Don River alone carries 500 billion microplastic particles into Lake Ontario annually, while Ontario's rural lakes have been accumulating microplastics for over a decade.
The sources are startlingly diverse. Synthetic textiles shed fibers during washing, a single fleece jacket can release millions of microfibers. Tire wear from vehicles contributes an estimated 3 trillion microplastic particles globally each year. Industrial processes, packaging that fragments in landfills, and even cosmetics historically laced with microbeads all contribute to the problem. It's a crisis that governments are scrambling to understand, and one that requires data-driven solutions rather than quick fixes.
Understanding the Problem at Scale
With the use of Fourier-Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and environmental degradation chambers, Surface Science Western has become one of Canada's key partners in answering this challenge. These techniques work in concert; FTIR reveals polymer composition and possible degradation state, SEM documents particle morphology and size, and environmental chambers simulate real-world conditions to predict how materials will fragment over time.
Dr. Patricia Corcoran and researchers at SSW have characterized microplastics in wastewater and stormwater in the city of London. Early findings reveal that synthetic fibers dominate municipal wastewater samples, while tire wear particles are prevalent in urban stormwater runoff. Advanced treatment processes can remove 90% or more of microplastics, but some particles inevitably slip through, information that shapes infrastructure investment decisions. This data is also shared more broadly, in scientific journals, informing researchers globally and helping governments understand the scope of the problem.
Microplastics aren't a one-time problem—they're a persistent and pervasive issue that remain in the environment for many years and spread via different routes, including water, air, and soil. Because microplastics are so small and varied, we use a combination of different testing methods to accurately detect, measure, and understand their impacts on the world. For example, we use spectroscopy to tell us what type of plastic it is, microscopy to see what the particles look like, and other techniques such as environmental chambers to help predict how they may transform. That’s why it’s important to use a combined approach,” explains Dr. Carolyn Hill-Svehla, Research Scientist at Surface Science Western.
Training the Next Generation of Environmental Leaders
What makes this work particularly valuable is its dual purpose. While SSW's analysis informs municipal decision-making and manufacturing improvements, it's simultaneously training the next generation. Graduate students and early-career researchers spend time analyzing real-world samples collected from wastewater plants and stormwater systems, learning to interpret complex data, and grappling with problems that have a genuine consequence. They learn not just analytical techniques, but how to think about material problems holistically: Where do microplastics originate? What design decisions could prevent them? How do degradation pathways affect environmental persistence? How do findings translate into policy recommendations?
They emerge prepared for careers in environmental science, materials engineering, policy analysis, and sustainability—equipped with skills that are becoming increasingly critical. More importantly, they've learned to operate at the intersection of science and real-world problem-solving.
