Quantification and Categorization of Macroplastics (Plastic Debris) within a Headwaters Basin in Western North Carolina, USA: Implications to the Potential Impacts of Plastic Pollution on Biota
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Study Area
2.2. Collection and Characterization of Plastic Debris
2.3. Laboratory Microplastic Production Analysis
2.4. Spatial Land Use and Terrain Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Land Use Characteristics
3.2. Plastic Debris
3.2.1. Spatial and Temporal Trends in the Quantity of Plastic Debris
3.2.2. Characteristics of the Plastic Debris
3.3. Microplastic Production
4. Discussion
4.1. Temporal and Spatial Variations in Plastic Abundance
4.2. Functional Origin and Material Type of the Plastic Debris
4.3. Item Size, Abundance, and Fragmentation
4.4. Meso- and Macroplastic Decomposition and Microplastic Production
4.5. Resin Composition
5. Conclusions
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Resin | Abbreviation | Density (g/cm3) 2 | Common Type | Common Functional Uses |
---|---|---|---|---|
Low-density polyethylene | LDPE | 0.89–0.93 | Film | Squeeze bottles, container lids, six-pack beverage holders, diapers, bags |
High-density polyethylene | HDPE | 0.94–0.98 | Film, Hard | Grocery bags, milk jugs, recycling bins, detergent and cleaner bottles, buoys |
Polypropylene | PP | 0.85–0.92 | Hard | Food wrappers and containers, dishware, bottle caps, straws, auto parts |
Expanded polystyrene | EPS | 0.01–0.04 | Foam | Foam cups, plates, trays, clamshell food containers |
Polystyrene | PS | 1.04–1.08 | Hard | Plates, cutlery, toys |
Polyvinyl chloride | PVC | 1.38–1.41 | Hard | Pipe, fencing, flooring, tampon applicators |
Polyethylene terephthalate (including polyester) | PET | 1.38–1.41 | Hard, Fabric | Textiles, beverage bottles, strapping |
Sample Location and Date | Film | Hard Plastic | Foam | Fabric | Rubber | Total Number | Concentration 1 (Items/m) | Accumulation Rate 2 (Items/Day) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Site 1 | ||||||||
28 Sep. 2022 | 25 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 1 | 55 | 1.10 | |
24 Mar. 2023 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 19 | 0.38 | 0.11 |
Site 2 (Tributary) | ||||||||
13 Dec. 2022 | 40 | 42 | 35 | 13 | 0 | 130 | 2.60 | |
24 Mar. 2023 | 26 | 14 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 51 | 1.02 | 0.50 |
Site 3 | ||||||||
28 Sep. 2022 | 20 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 28 | 0.56 | |
24 Mar. 2023 | 49 | 13 | 9 | 15 | 1 | 87 | 1.74 | 0.49 |
20 Sep. 2023 | 64 | 32 | 4 | 9 | 5 | 114 | 2.28 | 0.63 |
Site 4 (Tributary) | ||||||||
28 Sep. 2022 | 51 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 69 | 1.38 | |
24 Mar. 2023 | 36 | 18 | 6 | 8 | 1 | 69 | 1.38 | 0.39 |
20 Sep. 2023 | 28 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 43 | 0.86 | 0.24 |
Site 5 | ||||||||
28 Sep. 2022 | 50 | 11 | 1 | 16 | 1 | 79 | 1.58 | |
24 Mar. 2023 | 104 | 37 | 0 | 39 | 9 | 189 | 3.78 | 1.06 |
Site 6 | ||||||||
13 Dec. 2022 | 122 | 62 | 76 | 24 | 2 | 286 | 5.72 | |
Site 7 | ||||||||
28 Sep. 2022 | 45 | 22 | 7 | 8 | 0 | 82 | 1.64 | |
24 Mar. 2023 | 114 | 61 | 41 | 8 | 2 | 226 | 4.52 | 1.27 |
Total Period | 863 | 432 | 220 | 187 | 35 | 1737 | 4.96 |
Sample Location | Shopping Bag | Food Wrapper | Clothing | Bottle | Other 1 | Unknown 2 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Site 1 | 22 | 21 | 12 | 0 | 24 | 15 |
Site 2 (Tributary) | 39 | 10 | 17 | 2 | 23 | 15 |
Site 3 | 83 | 29 | 9 | 1 | 86 | 60 |
Site 4 (Tributary) | 70 | 15 | 3 | 5 | 61 | 27 |
Site 5 | 47 | 43 | 9 | 3 | 64 | 63 |
Site 6 | 141 | 16 | 6 | 3 | 109 | 33 |
Site 7 | 113 | 47 | 19 | 18 | 170 | 129 |
Total | 515 | 181 | 75 | 32 | 537 | 342 |
Sample Location | White | Transparent | Black | Brown | Blue | Green | Red | Yellow |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Site 1 | 24 | 7 | 16 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
Site 2 (Tributary) | 33 | 15 | 20 | 14 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 0 |
Site 3 | 62 | 70 | 30 | 26 | 9 | 12 | 8 | 8 |
Site 4 (Tributary) | 49 | 48 | 32 | 18 | 8 | 11 | 9 | 4 |
Site 5 | 79 | 68 | 47 | 18 | 19 | 9 | 20 | 4 |
Site 6 | 110 | 51 | 56 | 30 | 33 | 11 | 6 | 3 |
Site 7 | 247 | 77 | 40 | 41 | 39 | 22 | 20 | 2 |
Total | 604 | 336 | 241 | 158 | 123 | 76 | 69 | 21 |
Material | Item Desc. | Area (cm2) 1 | Counts 2 | Type 3 | Color 4 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fabric 1 | Carpet | 32 | >400 | Fiber | Transparent, black |
Fabric 2 | Brown fabric | 32 | >400 | Fiber | Transparent, brown |
Fabric 3 | Colorful fabric | 32 | >400 | Fiber | Transparent, red, black, blue |
Film 1 | New grocery bag | 64 | >400 | Film | Blue |
Film 2 | Old grocery bag | 64 | >400 | Film | White, red |
Foam 1 | Old foam to-go container | 32 | >400 | Foam | White |
Foam 2 | New foam cup | 32 | 6 (Below LOD 5) | N/A | N/A |
Blank | N/A | N/A | 6 | Fibers | Blue, black |
River (Reference) | Sampling Method | Dominant Types of Items | Dominant Resin Compositions 1,2 |
---|---|---|---|
Richland Creek (this study) | Surveys of deposited Items | Bags, food wrappers, bottles, fabrics | HDPE, LDPE, PET, PP; less abundant—PS, EPS, PVC |
Parana Floodplain Lakes (Blettler et al.) [25] | Surveys of deposited Items | Food wrappers, bags, bottles, Styrofoam™ food containers | PP, PS, HDPE, LPE, PET |
Seine River (Gasperi et al.) [19] | Floating detention boom | Food wrappers and containers, plastic cutlery | PP, PE, & less amounts of PET |
Thames River (Morritt et al.) [23] | Eel fyke nets | Food wrappers, tobacco packaging, sanitary towel components, cups, cutlery | --- |
Tamar Estuary (Sadri and Thompson) [22] | Towed net (surface) | Not specified | PE, PS, PP; minor amounts of PVC, PET (polyester), Nylon |
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Barrett, N.; Miller, J.; Orbock-Miller, S. Quantification and Categorization of Macroplastics (Plastic Debris) within a Headwaters Basin in Western North Carolina, USA: Implications to the Potential Impacts of Plastic Pollution on Biota. Environments 2024, 11, 195. https://doi.org/10.3390/environments11090195
Barrett N, Miller J, Orbock-Miller S. Quantification and Categorization of Macroplastics (Plastic Debris) within a Headwaters Basin in Western North Carolina, USA: Implications to the Potential Impacts of Plastic Pollution on Biota. Environments. 2024; 11(9):195. https://doi.org/10.3390/environments11090195
Chicago/Turabian StyleBarrett, Nathaniel, Jerry Miller, and Suzanne Orbock-Miller. 2024. "Quantification and Categorization of Macroplastics (Plastic Debris) within a Headwaters Basin in Western North Carolina, USA: Implications to the Potential Impacts of Plastic Pollution on Biota" Environments 11, no. 9: 195. https://doi.org/10.3390/environments11090195