Microplastics (MPs) are emerging airborne pollutants that can migrate through various environmental pathways, with air representing one of the most critical exposure routes. Their occurrence within suspended particulate matter (PM)—a major atmospheric pollutant associated with respiratory, cardiovascular, and neurological diseases—further amplifies the risks posed by air pollution. The main sources of airborne MPs include tire and road wear, degradation of larger plastic debris, and wind-driven resuspension from soil and landfills. This review provides a comprehensive synthesis of current knowledge on airborne MPs, integrating methodological and toxicological perspectives. It summarizes sampling and separation procedures (filtration, chemical digestion, density separation) and analytical techniques for qualitative and quantitative identification. Particular emphasis is placed on the toxicological implications of MPs, including oxidative stress, inflammatory responses, and potential carcinogenicity, as revealed by in vitro and mechanistic studies. In light of the absence of standardized methodologies, this work highlights the urgent need for harmonized protocols linking environmental monitoring with biological toxicity assessment. By combining information on analytical workflows and cellular responses, this review serves as a key reference for developing environmentally relevant experimental designs and evaluating health risks associated with airborne microplastics. It therefore bridges the gap between environmental analysis and toxicological research, outlining future priorities for methodological standardization and risk assessment.

The issue of recovery and disposal of hazardous waste is not a new concern. The waste comes from various processes and technologies and therefore the bigger emphasis should be placed on reducing quantities of generated hazardous waste (which is often connected with changes in the technology of manufacturing a given product) and limitation of their negative influence on natural environment. Plants specializing in waste processing processes should meet the so-called cardinal triad of conditions deciding on the full success of investment, and namely: economic effectiveness, ecological efficiency and social acceptance. The structure of generation of hazardous waste in EU-28 has been presented in the paper. Methods of hazardous waste disposal in Poland have been discussed. Economic and ecological criteria for the selection of technology of hazardous waste disposal have been analyzed. The influence of the hazardous waste on the environment is also presented. For four groups of waste, which are currently stored, alternative methods of disposal have been proposed.

Sewage sludge is generated in wastewater treatment plants as specific waste resulting from the processes of sewage purification and it requires the proper treatment. The growth in the number of people and use of modern more effective technologies of wastewater treatment results in an increase of amounts of produced sewage sludge. It would seem that municipal sewage sludge should enrich the soil with valuable elements (such as nitrogen, phosphorus, sulphur and magnesium) as well as organic matter due to its fertilizing and humusgeneration facilitating features. However, the substance often contains excessive amounts of heavy metals and there is presence of organic pollution as well as pathogenic organisms and eggs of parasites. The introduction of prohibition of waste storage in 2016 as well as significant limitations to the use of sludge for agricultural purposes was a serious hindrance to the management of the waste. In order to verify the suitability of sludge for use in agriculture, samples of sewage sludge have been taken from one of wastewater treatment plants in the Malopolska province and an analysis of their elemental composition has been performed for better examination of the problem. Then the energy characteristics of the sludge have been checked.

E3S Web of Conferences, open access proceedings in environment, energy and earth sciences