Spiderwebs used as microplastic pollution screens
Airborne plastic can make up a tenth of a spiderweb’s weight. What can it tell us about the life cycle of plastic and recycling in our cities?
Spiders build their webs to trap flies and mosquitoes, but it has long been known that these webs also capture a wide range of heavy metals from the air. Previous studies have also shown that webs are effective tools for monitoring airborne metal pollution. Nobody has examined these natural structures for microplastics until now. Find out whether microplastics could be detected in the webs of the extremely common orb-weaving spiders. And, if so, whether the concentration and type of plastics captured showed any patterns.
Download this story and the accompanying summary slide to give 14–16 students a new science context when studying life cycle assessments and recycling.
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