Microplastics in the River Weser

Marietta Schröder, a high school student from Beverungen, chose the topic of microplastics for her school project. Researching the background strengthens her belief that there must also be such particles in the river next door, the Weser. She provided the decisive proof at XLAB. She and her teacher had previously examined samples under the microscope at school, but they were unable to determine whether the particles consist of plastic. She finally succeeded in detecting it in collaboration with XLAB lecturer Dr. Barbara Ritter. "I used a special filter to isolate the microparticles contained in the water, then I first decomposed the organic matter. I stained the remaining particles with the dye Nile Red, examined the samples with fluorescence microscopy and compared them with positive samples," Marietta Schröder describes the procedure. The German newspaper "Westfalen-Blatt" reported on 10.02.2021.