Microplastic pollution on the strandline of urban and natural city beaches: The role of local activities

Abstract

The worldwide production of plastics has been reported to grow from 335 million t in 2016 up to 348 million t in 2017, giving employment to over 1.5 million people in Europe. Plastic materials have changed our way of life because of their versatility, high durability and ability to be moulded in different shapes. For that reason, when discarded in the marine environment, plastics and especially microplastics can become an environmental hazard.This article describes the presence and abundance of microplastics in sandy beaches of a coastal city, Cartagena (southeast Spain), surrounding the Mar Menor coastal lagoon, an important tourist destination with also local activities, mainly fishery and agriculture. Microscopic observations and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy analyses displayed a total of 14 polymer families in the microplastic composition, mainly represented by low-density polyethylene (LDPE), high-density polyethylene, polyvinyl ester (PVE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene, nylon (NYL) and polyester (PES). The extensive amount of polymer types together with an important variety of colours demonstrates the multiple origin of microplastics. LDPE in a film form proved to be a consequence of plastic greenhouses degradation, prone to cracking under environmental stress, because of their transportation through a northwest catchment down to the beach. Similarly, PVE used in naval composite structures as a primary resin proved to be higher in urban than in natural beaches because of the massive use of fishing boats and pleasure crafts. Littering and runoff were the main sources for other microplastic particles, mainly PP, NYL and PES.

Screening and Quantification of Micro(Nano)Plastics and Plastic Additives in the Seawater of Mar Menor Lagoon

“…For example, a previous study carried out by Bayo et al (2020) investigating the presence of MPLs in the sand of natural and urban beaches of the lagoon, Los Urrutias and Los Narejos (near to the sampling point 3, Los Alcázares, in the present study) were the more contaminated sites, which is in agreement with our findings (see Figure 2 and Table 2). PE and PP were also identified in the sand of natural and urban beaches (Bayo et al, 2019(Bayo et al, , 2020, or in waters from the same lagoon. In these works, the presence of the same polymers was confirmed showing PE (up to 37%) and PP (up to 12.4%) among others (León et al, 2018), or in waters taken in 2016 in La Llana beach (near to sampling point 1 in our study).…”

“…The southern part of the lagoon presented the most contaminated sites and a large number of polymers in summer, in particular sites 7, 8, and 9 corresponding to Los Urritias, Los Nietos, and Isla del Baron, respectively. These results agree with previous works carried out in the same area in which the occurrence of larger-sized MPLs (León et al, 2018(León et al, , 2019de Haan et al, 2019;Bayo et al, 2020) was explored. For example, a previous study carried out by Bayo et al (2020) investigating the presence of MPLs in the sand of natural and urban beaches of the lagoon, Los Urrutias and Los Narejos (near to the sampling point 3, Los Alcázares, in the present study) were the more contaminated sites, which is in agreement with our findings (see Figure 2 and Table 2).…”

“…These results agree with previous works carried out in the same area in which the occurrence of larger-sized MPLs (León et al, 2018(León et al, , 2019de Haan et al, 2019;Bayo et al, 2020) was explored. For example, a previous study carried out by Bayo et al (2020) investigating the presence of MPLs in the sand of natural and urban beaches of the lagoon, Los Urrutias and Los Narejos (near to the sampling point 3, Los Alcázares, in the present study) were the more contaminated sites, which is in agreement with our findings (see Figure 2 and Table 2). PE and PP were also identified in the sand of natural and urban beaches (Bayo et al, 2019(Bayo et al, , 2020, or in waters from the same lagoon.…”

“…The central area of this lagoon (sampling points 3, 6, and 7), presented a wide variety of polymers in summer and is the most contaminated site of the northern part of the lagoon, probably as consequence of the influence of urban nuclei and El Albujón watercourse which covers the drainage of 83.4% of water-courses from land-use runoff and human activities including urbanization, tourism and fishing (Bayo et al, 2020).…”