Microplastic pollution has gained attention in recent years due to its adverse impact on the environment. As a major threat to marine ecosystems and biota, the accumulation of microplastics along coastlines has become a growing concern. This study focused on quantifying and characterizing the presence, distribution, and composition of microplastics along the beaches of Romania and Bulgaria. Microplastics were extracted from beach sand samples using a saturated NaCl solution. The particles were then analyzed through FT-IR and DSC spectral analyses to identify their chemical composition. Sampling was conducted across several resorts along the Romanian and Bulgarian coastlines. The findings revealed varying concentrations of microplastics across different beaches, with Romanian beaches showing concentrations of between 40 and 213 particles per sample (470–2500 microplastics/kg), which were notably higher in areas like Mamaia and Costinești. On Bulgarian beaches, the average concentrations reached up to 137 particles per sample (1612 microplastics/kg), particularly in areas like Sunny Beach and Nessebar. Polyethylene (PE) was identified as the most prevalent polymer (55%), followed by polyamide (PA), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and polyurethane (PU). These polymers were linked to common sources such as packaging, textiles, and industrial products. Microscopic examination, combined with FT-IR and DSC spectral analysis, confirmed the plastic nature of the particles, revealing distinct chemical structures characteristic of each material type. This study underscores the widespread contamination of Romanian and Bulgarian beaches with microplastics, emphasizing the environmental risks to coastal ecosystems. The presence of synthetic polymers highlights the urgent need for policies targeting plastic waste management to mitigate the growing pollution in marine environments.

The failure of providing reliable water supply with standard water quality to the households is seen as a specific aspect of the water crisis. In this study, the drinking water supply of the households in Northeastern region of Bulgaria (Varna, Shumen, Dobrich, and Targovishte districts) for the period 2010-2021 was studied and analysed. During the studied period, the relative share of population affected by lack of drinking water supply for over 180 days per year varies between 0.0% in 2011 to 0.7% in 2020 of the total percentage of affected population on national scale. For Varna and Dobrich districts, the share of the affected population from prolonged interruptions in the water supply does not exceed 1%. The most severely affected is the Targovishte district’s population, where between 8.8% in 2010 and 24.3% in 2020 experience water supply regime with long, regular interruptions of water supply. In the municipality of Omurtag, approximately 80% of the population does not receive continuous water supply. Households in some of the villages in this municipality receive regulated water supply once every 480 hours. Based on the analysis, settlements with a regime of water supply and poor drinking water quality were identified, as well as the time intervals of supply interruption for the period studied. The main reasons for the manifestations of this specific aspect of the water crisis in Northeastern region of Bulgaria were identified. The shortage of water and the inability to provide households with the necessary water quantities with the required quality confronts Bulgaria with an ever-growing problem, the solution of which requires a complex institutional response, including from the water supply and sewerage sector.

Pollen productivity еstimate (PPE) and relevant source area of pollen (RSAP) are critical parameters for quantitative interpretations of pollen data in palaeolandscape and palaeoecological reconstructions, and for analyses of the landscapes evolution and anthropogenisation as well. In light of this, the present paper endeavours to calculate PPE of key plant taxa and to define the RSAP in the Kamchia River Downstream Region (Eastern Bulgaria) in order to use them in landscape simulations and estimations. For the purposes of this research, a dataset of pollen counts from 10 modern pollen samples together with corresponding vegetation data, measured around each sample point in concentric rings, were collected in 2020. Three submodels of the Extended R-Value (ERV) model were used to relate pollen percentages to vegetation composition. Therewith, in order to create a calibrated model, the plant abundance of each pollen type was weighed by distance in GIS environment. The findings led to the conclusion that most of the tree taxa have PPE higher than 1 (ERV3 submodel). Cichoriceae, Fabaceae and Asteraceae have lower PPE.