Microplastic pollution is a pervasive threat to ecosystems and human health. However, existing detection methods or products highly rely on specialised microscopy or spectroscopy, such as FTIR, which are accurate but costly, slow, and unsuited to continuous field monitoring. We present our model PRISM (Plastic Recognition using Integrated Scattered Monitoring), a compact, battery-powered device for real-time onsite detection of microplastics. PRISM employs selective fluorescent dye staining (e.g. Rhodamine B or Nile Red) that binds to microplastics and emits strong fluorescence under green laser excitation. The scattered fluorescence is captured by photodiodes and optical filters, and an onboard Raspberry Pi–based convolutional neural network processes the images to classify the presence of microplastics. This integrated approach achieves detection accuracy on the order of ~90%, comparable to recent low-cost designs using photodiode arrays. For reference, a similar portable system combining Nile Red staining with a YOLOv8 CNN reported ~94.8% accuracy on common polymers, demonstrating the efficacy of PRISM’s methodology. PRISM’s user-friendly design requires minimal sample preparation, allowing nonexperts to perform tests in the field. Results are then sent to a web-based dashboard that visualises real-time contamination levels and particle count. This high-throughput workflow (≈20 seconds per sample in comparable systems) dramatically reduces reliance on lab equipment. Economic analysis shows a >77% cost reduction per test (to about $0.10 vs ~$0.44 for conventional FTIR. So, by democratizing microplastic monitoring, we provide a field-ready tool, PRISM, that supports community and citizen science environmental programs and leads to a better, healthy lifeof humans and the rest of the organism. Our model has real-time data logging and trend analysis, which aligns with the UN Sustainable Development Goals for clean water, marine life, and sustainable com-munities. Low-cost, AI-driven detection systems like PRISM can be recognised as key enablers for informed deci-sion-making and pollution mitigation worldwide. In summary, PRISM is a novel integration of fluorescent staining, optical sensing, and edge-AI processing that delivers a powerful, cost-effective solution for real-time microplastic mon-itoring and environmental protection.

Microplastic, Spectroscopy, FTIR, PRISM, Fluorescence, Sustainable