Environmental · Pollution Research
Microplastics Sampling
Intermediate 4 weeks 20-30 hours
Collect beach sand or stream sediment, separate out microplastics with salt water, and count and classify them under magnification.
Major
Environmental
Focus area
Pollution Research
Total hours
20-30 hours
What you'll need
- stainless steel sieve set
- glass jars with lids
- USB digital microscope 1000x
- fine point tweezers set
- glass petri dishes
- filter paper and funnel set
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Steps
- Pick 2 or 3 sites, like a beach, stream bank, and park, and record each location.
- Collect the same amount of sand or sediment at each site.
- Mix each sample with saturated salt water so plastics float, then filter off the floating material.
- Count and classify particles under the microscope as fragments, fibers, films, foam, or pellets.
- Run a blank sample to check for contamination and compare sites.
- Document your photos and data for your portfolio.
What to photograph for your portfolio
- Sample collection
- density separation jars
- microscope photos by type
- site comparison chart
Resume bullet starters
Copy one, then swap in your own numbers.
Sampled [X] sites and identified [X] microplastic particles using density separation and microscopy
Classified particles into 5 types and used blank controls to account for lab contamination
Quantified results with [insert your result, such as removal percentage, accuracy, strength, or cost savings] and summarized findings in a technical report
Skills you'll show off
Environmental samplingdensity separationQA/QCmicroscopyresearch writing