Microplastic pollution is prevalent in the Ottawa River, with all open water samples (n = 62) and sediment samples (n = 10) containing microplastics. The median microplastic concentration of nearshore 100 L water samples was 0. ), suggesting that the effluent plume is a pathway for plastic pollution to the Ottawa River. The mean concentration of microplastic fragments recovered in the sediment samples was 0.22 fragments per g dry weight. The abundance of microplastics in the sediment was not significantly related to the mean particle size or the organic content of the sediment. The most common form of plastic particles found was microfibers. These made up between 70% and 100% of all plastic particles observed, although plastic microbeads and secondary plastic fragments were also recovered.

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