River plastic emissions to the world’s oceans

Lebreton, Laurent; Zwet, Joost Van Der; Damsteeg, Jan Willem; Slat, Boyan; Andrady, Anthony L.; Reisser, Júlia

doi:10.1038/ncomms15611

Cited by 2,689 publications

(1,678 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…This is likely due to an increase in plastic leakage from the waste stream, as has been reported elsewhere (Thompson et al, 2009). The increase in coastal populations has been observed to increase the amount of pollution entering waterways (Jambeck et al, 2015;Lebreton et al, 2017). For example, 40% of Tasmania's population lives around the margins of the Derwent Estuary, with the population doubling between 1950 and 2015 (Carver, 1954;Coughanowr et al, 2015).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 75%

Microplastic Distribution at Different Sediment Depths in an Urban Estuary

et al. 2017

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As plastic production increases, so to do the threats from plastic pollution. Microplastics (defined as plastics <5 mm) are a subset of marine debris about which we know less than we do of larger debris items, though they are potentially ubiquitous in the marine environment. To quantify the distribution and change in microplastic densities through time, we sampled sediment cores from an estuary in Tasmania, Australia. We hypothesized that the type, distribution and abundance of microplastics observed would be associated with increasing plastic production, coastal population growth, and proximity to urban water outflows and local hydrodynamics. Sediments ranging from the year 1744 to 2004 were sub-sampled from each core. We observed microplastics in every sample, with greater plastic frequencies found in the upper (more recent) sediments. This time trend of microplastic accumulation matched that of global plastic production and coastal population growth. We observed that fibers were the most abundant type of microplastic in our samples. These fibers were present in sediments that settled prior to the presence of plastics in the environment. We propose a simple statistical model to estimate the level of contamination in our samples. We suggest that the current trend in the literature suggesting very high loads of fibers, particularly in remote locations such as the deep seafloor, may be largely due to contamination.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 75%

Microplastic Distribution at Different Sediment Depths in an Urban Estuary

et al. 2017

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“…In addition, the lack of rivers discharging in the Red Sea may also lead to low inputs, as rivers are major conduits for plastic inputs into the ocean (Lebreton et al, 2017). However, waste management remains an unresolved problem in the Red Sea region (Gladstone et al, 1999).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Low Abundance of Plastic Fragments in the Surface Waters of the Red Sea

et al. 2017

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The floating plastic debris along the Arabian coast of the Red Sea was sampled by using surface-trawling plankton nets. A total of 120 sampling sites were spread out over the near-shore waters along 1,500 km of coastline during seven cruises performed during 2016 and 2017. Plastic debris, dominated by millimeter-sized pieces, was constituted mostly of fragments of rigid objects (73%) followed by pieces of films (17%), fishing lines (6%), and foam (4%). These fragments were mainly made up by polyethylene (69%) and polypropylene (21%). Fibers, likely released from synthetic textiles, were ubiquitous and abundant, although were analyzed independently due to the risk of including non-plastic fibers and airborne contamination of samples in spite of the precautions taken. The plastic concentrations (excluding possible plastic fibers) contrasts with those found in other semi-closed seas, such as the neighboring Mediterranean. They were relatively low all over the Red Sea (<50,000 items km −2 ; mean ± SD = 3,546 ± 8,154 plastic item km −2 , 1.1 ± 3.0 g km −2 ) showing no clear spatial relationship with the distribution of coastal population. Results suggests a low plastic waste input from land as the most plausible explanation for this relative shortage of plastic in the surface waters of the Red Sea; however, the additional intervention of particular processes of surface plastic removal by fish or the filtering activity of the extensive coral reefs along the coastline cannot be discarded. In addition, our study highlights the relevance of determining specific regional conversion rates of mismanaged plastic waste to marine debris, accounting for the role of near-shore activities (e.g., beach tourism, recreational navigation), in order to estimate plastic waste inputs into the ocean.

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“…The most widely used and abundant commodity plastics are polyethylene (PE), polypropylene, polystyrene, and poly(vinyl chloride) [6]. These polymers are the most commonly produced and used, they are also the most commonly found plastics in the environment, giving rise to one of the most problematic categories of solid wastes, which negatively affect soil and water [7][8][9][10][11]. This is directly related to their resistance to degrade under environmental influences such as humidity and microbial attack.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An overview on properties and applications of poly(butylene adipate‐co‐terephthalate)–PBAT based composites

Ferreira

Cividanes

Gouveia

et al. 2017

Polymer Engineering & Sci

314

149

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There is growing interest in biodegradable polymers (BP), in particular poly(butylene adipate‐co‐terephthalate) (PBAT), due to environmental problems associated with the disposal of non‐biodegradable polymers into the environment. However, high production cost and low thermo‐mechanical properties restrict the use of this sustainable material, making its biodegradability advantageous only when it is decisively required. The addition of different compositions of monomers and selective addition of natural fillers have been reported as alternatives to develop more accessible PBAT‐based bioplastics with performance that could match or even exceed that of the most widely used commodity plastics. This review explores the recent progress of the applications and biodegradation of PBAT. The addition of natural fillers and its effect on the final performance of the PBAT‐based composites is also reported with respect to improving the properties of composites. The advance of polymerization reaction engineering combined with sustainable trend offers great opportunities for innovative green chemical manufacturing. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 59:E7–E15, 2019. © 2017 Society of Plastics Engineers

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River plastic emissions to the world’s oceans

Cited by 2,689 publications

References 37 publications

Microplastic Distribution at Different Sediment Depths in an Urban Estuary

Microplastic Distribution at Different Sediment Depths in an Urban Estuary

Low Abundance of Plastic Fragments in the Surface Waters of the Red Sea

An overview on properties and applications of poly(butylene adipate‐co‐terephthalate)–PBAT based composites

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