On 22 May 2025, the partners of the PlastOrgAnoTox project met for a kick-off meeting at the Ruđer Boškovič Institute.

The project is multidisciplinary and will provide new insights into microplastics in freshwater and marine ecosystems under various anthropogenic influences as well as the biological changes and fate of microplastics in freshwater and marine organisms. In controlled experiments, we will characterise the biological changes at the cellular and organismal level caused by microplastics in combination with metals that are environmental pollutants. These new findings will help us to develop biomarkers and assess environmental risks based on data on the occurrence of microplastics in freshwater and marine environments.

The project is coordinated by Dr Andreja Ramšak (Slovenian part) and Dr Vlatka Filipović Marijić (Croatian part). The Slovenian project partners are: the NIB (coordinator), University of Ljubljana, Biotechnical Faculty, Department of Biology, Jožef Stefan Institute and Institute for Water of the Republic of Slovenia.

The project is funded under the Weave program scheme, Slovenian part is funded by ARIS and the Croatian part by HRZZ.