This open access book provides a cross-sectoral, multi-scale assessment of marine litter in Africa with a focus on plastics. From distribution, to impacts on environmental and human health, this book ...looks at what is known scientifically. It includes a policy analysis of the instruments that currently exist, and what is needed to help Africa tackle marine litter—including local and transboundary sources. Across 5 chapters, experts from Africa and beyond have put together a summary of the scientific knowledge currently known about marine litter in Africa. The context of the African continent and future projections form a backdrop on which the scientific knowledge is built. This scientific knowledge incorporates quantities, distributions, and pathways of litter into the marine environment, highlighting where the impacts of marine litter are most felt in Africa. These impacts have widespread effects, with ecological, social, economic, and human health repercussions. While containing detailed scientific information, this book provides a sound knowledge base for policymakers, NGOs and the broader public.
•Crangon crangon living in natural habitats are able to ingest plastic particles.•An average microplastics uptake of 0.68±0.55/g w. w. was obtained for shrimp.•A clear seasonal effect on the ...microplastic contamination in shrimp was established.
This study assessed the capability of Crangon crangon (L.), an ecologically and commercially important crustacean, of consuming plastics as an opportunistic feeder. We therefore determined the microplastic content of shrimp in shallow water habitats of the Channel area and Southern part of the North Sea. Synthetic fibers ranging from 200μm up to 1000μm size were detected in 63% of the assessed shrimp and an average value of 0.68±0.55microplastics/g w. w. (1.23±0.99microplastics/shrimp) was obtained for shrimp in the sampled area. The assessment revealed no spatial patterns in plastic ingestion, but temporal differences were reported. The microplastic uptake was significantly higher in October compared to March. The results suggest that microplastics >20μm are not able to translocate into the tissues.
Marine litter is a global challenge and society plays an important role via lifestyles and behaviour, including policy support. We analysed public perceptions of marine litter and contributing ...factors, using data from 1133 respondents across 16 European countries. People reported high levels of concern about marine litter, and the vast majority (95%) reported seeing litter when visiting the coast. The problem was attributed to product and packaging design and behaviour rather than lack of facilities or accidental loss of items. Retailers, industry and government were perceived as most responsible, but also least motivated and competent to reduce marine litter, whereas scientists and environmental groups were perceived as least responsible but most motivated and competent. Regression analyses demonstrated the importance of psychological factors such as values and social norms above sociodemographic variables. These findings are important for communications and interventions to reduce inputs of marine litter to the natural environment.
•Public perceptions play an important role when devising interventions to reduce marine litter.•This paper analysed over 1000 public survey responses from 16 European countries.•Respondents reported high concern and over 95% of them reported seeing litter when visiting the coast.•Marine litter was attributed to product and packaging design.•Perceived responsibility, motivation and competence of different stakeholders were compared.•Values and norms were more highly associated with concern and behavioural intentions than were sociodemographic variables.
E-waste is the world’s fastest growing and most valuable domestic waste stream. The increasing production of e-waste is driving elevated levels of export from developed to developing countries. ...Although countries worldwide are actively recognising the issues around e-waste and introducing policies, legislation or regulations governing e-waste, a large fraction of e-waste, goes undocumented at its end-of-life. Much of the global e-waste is accumulating in open dumpsites in several African countries. Using available data, we calculate the total e-waste in Africa (locally produced plus imported e-waste) for 2019 to be between 5.8 and 3.4 metric tonnes (Mt). This is believed to be an underestimate, large data gaps exist, hindering more precise estimates. The data is further complicated by, sometimes intentional, differences in labelling and reporting between formal and intermittent informal importers. Based on the available data, the main African recipients of e-waste are Nigeria, Ghana, and Tanzania, with Kenya, Senegal and Egypt featuring as countries of concern. The lack of proper waste management in the recipient developing countries, leads to environmental contamination and human exposure. A coordinated, regional and global, approach is needed in tackling e-waste. Regulatory frameworks, together with monitoring and compliance mechanisms need to be developed, financed, and enforced.
Marine litter is a pervasive and complex societal problem but has no simple solution. Inadequate practices at all levels of production–use–disposal contribute to accumulation of waste on land and at ...sea. Enhanced societal awareness but also co-responsibility across different sectors and improved interactions between stakeholders are necessary.
MARLISCO was a European initiative, which developed and implemented activities across 15 countries. It worked towards raising societal awareness and engagement on marine litter, through a combination of approaches: public exhibitions in over 80 locations; a video competition involving 2100 students; and a legacy of educational and decision-supporting tools. 12 national participatory events designed to facilitate dialogue on solutions brought together 1500 stakeholders and revealed support for cross-cutting, preventive measures. Evaluation during implementation shows that these activities are effective in improving individuals' perceptions about the problem but also commitment in being part of the solution. This paper summarises MARLISCO's approach and highlights a selection of outcomes.
•MARLISCO's activities improved the knowledge of target groups on the problem of marine litter and commitment in being part of the solution.•National stakeholders' networks have been strengthened.•A database of practices to prevent marine litter and “what/how to” guides have been made available.•A multilingual teaching resource and Serious Game for youngsters in 15 languages were developed.•Stakeholders favour preventive measures and Reduce, Reuse and Redesign strategies.
Microplastic litter is a pervasive pollutant present in marine systems across the globe. The legacy of microplastics pollution in the marine environment today may remain for years to come due to the ...persistence of these materials. Microplastics are emerging contaminants of potential concern and as yet there are few recognised approaches for monitoring. In 2008, the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD, 2008/56/EC) included microplastics as an aspect to be measured. Here we outline the approach as discussed by the European Union expert group on marine litter, the technical Subgroup on Marine litter (TSG-ML), with a focus on the implementation of monitoring microplastics in seawater in European seas. It is concluded that harmonization and coherence is needed to achieve reliable monitoring.
Microplastic contamination was determined in sediments of the Southern North Sea and floating at the sea surface of North West Europe. Floating concentrations ranged between zero and 1.5 ...microplastic/m3, whereas microplastic concentrations in sediments ranged between zero and 3146 particles/kg dry weight sediment. In sediments, mainly fibers and spheres were found, whereas at the sea surface fragments were dominant. At the sea surface, concentrations of microplastics are lower and more variable than in sediments, meaning that larger sample sizes and water volumes are required to find detectable concentrations. We have calculated the widths of the confidence intervals (CI) for different sample sizes, to give a first indication of the necessary sample size for a microplastic survey at the water surface. Higher concentrations of floating microplastics were found near estuaries. In sediments, estuaries and areas with a high organic carbon content were likely hotspots. Standardization of monitoring methods within marine regions is recommended to compare and assess microplastics pollution over time.
Marine plastic pollution, particularly microplastics, has been recognised as a global issue in the recent years, but research efforts in the Pacific are lagging. We carried out research on ...microplastics contamination of surface waters of the Vava'u archipelago, Tonga. Since microplastics smaller than the standard mesh size (333–335 μm) are readily reported in the literature on microplastics, we used a finer plankton net (100 μm) to determine the proportion of captured microplastics smaller than 300 μm. Isolated microplastics were counted and measured using stereomicroscope with polymer identification performed by FTIR spectroscopy. The analysis revealed high microplastics concentrations (329,299.7 ± 40,994.2 pcs km−2 or 1.05 ± 0.13 pcs m−3). The proportion of particles smaller than 300 μm was 40 %. The predominant type of microplastics in surface waters were small bits of white film, which we associated with cement-filled white bags used to construct docks throughout Vava'u, often heavily eroded.
•High concentrations of microplastics in the surface waters of the Vava'u•The samples were collected with a plankton net of 100-μm mesh size.•40 % of extracted microplastics are smaller than 300 μm, the standard net size.•60 % of microplastic particles are small bits of white film.•The source of microplastics is probably degraded cement-filled white bags used as docks.
Intentionally added plastic microbeads in personal care products (PCP) are an underestimated source of microplastics. These microbeads are added as fillers, to increase product volume or aesthetics ...and allegedly have the purpose of cleansing and exfoliation. To assess and forecast microbead emissions in India, this study analysed 45 items from four different categories of personal care products: face wash, face scrub, shower gel and body scrub available in the Indian market and determined microbead abundance, size, colour, shape and polymer composition. Also, an emission estimation and time-series-based forecast for 2030 was done using ARIMA (0,2,0) for individual categories and overall. The results indicate that 45.00 % of the products contained irregular or smooth microplastics, with Polyethylene being the dominant polymer, followed by Polypropylene, Polystyrene, Polyurethane and Polycaprolactone. A significant number of products (23.33%) contained cellulose microbeads, with ambiguity regarding their biodegradability. The identified microbeads were mainly irregular in shape and granular in texture, especially scrubs. White/transparent colour dominated the identified microbeads, followed by blue, pink, yellow, red and green. Approximately 1.34% of the total product contained plastic microbeads, with 5.04% and 0.04% being the highest and lowest percentages quantified. The average size of microbeads was found to be 640.74 μm, 452.45 μm, 556.66 μm and 606.30 μm in different categories. The overall annual emission estimation was 3.51 × 1019(highest), 2.14 × 1018(lowest) and 1.37 × 1019(average) in 2021 and forecasted to be 4.12 × 1019(highest), 2.52 × 1018(lowest) and 1.61 × 1019(average)in 2030. This exorbitantly high value is due to India's significant population, globalisation, inefficient wastewater efficiency, growing economy and disposable income. A lack of policies and adequate regulations further add to this. This study emphasises and recommends the development of stringent policies and other well-tailored mitigation measures for intentionally added microbeads in PCP in India. The study recommends some policy measures to curb this threat.
Display omitted
Oil pollution in the marine environment is an unavoidable problem due to chronic input from local sources, particularly in urban areas and oil spills. Oil pollution not only causes immediate physical ...damages to surrounding wildlife but also some components, including higher molecular weight PAHs, can persist in the environment for many years and pose insidious threats to the ecosystem. Long-term and nontargeted monitoring of oil pollution is important. This paper examines the ability of International Pellet Watch (IPW) for initial identification and monitoring of oil pollution by analysing PAHs and hopanes in plastic pellet samples collected globally by volunteers. PAH concentrations with the sum of 28 parent and methyl PAHs vary geographically, ranging from 0.035 to 24.4 µg/g-pellet, in line with the presence or absence of local oil pollution sources, such as oil refineries or oil spill sites. This suggests that PAHs can be used to monitor petroleum pollution in IPW. A colour-coded categorization for PAH concentrations within IPW monitoring also is established to facilitate data presentation and understanding. PAH concentrations are generally higher in Western Europe, especially around the North Sea shorelines, moderate in East Asia and North America, and lower in South East Asia, Oceania, South America, and Africa. Hopane concentrations, with a smaller spatial variation (1.7–101 µg/g-pellet), showed no spatial pattern. This result and the poor correlation between hopanes and PAHs suggest that hopane concentrations alone are unsuited to identify petroleum pollution. However, hopane compositions can be used for fingerprinting sources of oil pollution. Thus, both PAHs and hopanes in IPW allow for low cost, remote monitoring of global oil pollution.
PDF
