UC student finds high levels of microplastics on NZ coasts

UC student finds high levels of microplastics on NZ coasts

In the first dedicated study to investigate the quantities and types of microplastics in New Zealand coastal environments, a University of Canterbury student has identified that our shores have comparable concentrations of microplastics to overseas.

The recently published study indicated the highest concentrations of plastics were measured on exposed beaches close to urban areas.

University of Canterbury (UC) PhD student Phil Clunies-Ross undertook the research while completing his BSC (Hons) degree, with the study published this month in the New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research.

“This study has shown us that even though we are geographically isolated in New Zealand, we certainly are not free of microplastic pollution,” Clunies-Ross says.

“We need to consider whether use of microplastics in consumer products like toothpaste and facial cleansers is appropriate. Other countries have recently banned the use of microplastics in consumer products. I would recommend that New Zealand implements a similar ban.”

UC Senior Lecturer in Environmental Chemistry Dr Sally Gaw supervised the research project, which is the first to investigate the presence of secondary microplastics in New Zealand and involved a survey of different coastal environments around Christchurch. It has been predicted that as much as 10% of all plastic manufactured each year is ending up in the oceans, she says.

“Plastics are used widely due to their properties. Appropriate use and disposal of plastics is important if we want to prevent microplastics accumulating in the oceans,” Dr Gaw says.

An international report has recently stated that there may be as much plastic, by weight, as fish in the ocean by 2050. It is too difficult to remove plastics once they have been released into oceans, she says.

The majority of microplastics were identified as polystyrene (55%), followed by polyethylene (21%) and polypropylene (11%). The microplastics were identified using spectroscopy facilities at the University of Otago through collaboration with Professor Keith Gordon and Geoffrey Smith.

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