A Review of Current Knowledge

Plastic Pollution in Rivers

and Oceans

FR/R0030
November 2018

© Foundation for Water Research

Price: £15.00
(20% discount to FWR Members)

Foundation for Water Research

Allen House, The Listons,
Liston Road, Marlow,
Bucks SL7 1FD, U.K.
Tele: +44(0)1628 891589
Fax: +44(0)1628 472711
E-mail: [email protected]
Home page: www.fwr.org
 Review of Current Knowledge

This review is one of a series of Reviews of Current Knowledge (ROCKs)

produced by FWR. They focus on topics related to water supply, wastewater
disposal and water environments, which may be the subject of debate and
inquiry. The objective of each review is to produce concise, independent
scientific and technical information on the subject to facilitate a wider
understanding of the issues involved and to promote informed opinion about
them.

© Foundation for Water Research 2018

Copyright

Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism
or review, as permitted under the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act (1998), no
part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any
means, without the prior permission in writing of FWR.

Disclaimer

Whilst every effort has been made to ensure accuracy FWR will not accept
responsibility for any loss or damage suffered by any person acting or refraining from
acting upon any material contained in this publication.

Appropriate professional advice should be sought when making important decisions to

ensure the information is correct, up-to-date and applicable to specific circumstances.
 Review of Current Knowledge

Plastic pollution in rivers and oceans

Installation of the OCEANCLEANUP System 001 at the Pacific Trial test site.
September 15, 2018
with permission of Oceancleanup Project

Author: Dr E M Valentine

1
Review of Current Knowledge

2
 Review of Current Knowledge

CONTENTS

Page
1 Introduction 5

2 Types of plastics and their uses 8

3 Sources of plastic waste 11

3.1 How plastic enters the environment 11
3.2 The major river sources of waste plastics 12
3.3 Interaction of plastics in rivers and coasts with the oceans 14

4 How persistent is plastic in the environment? 17

5 The transport and spread of plastic pollution 19

5.1 Plastic waste pathways – a mass balance 19
5.2 Transport of plastic 20

6 The environmental impact of waste plastics 23

6.1 Impact in the oceans 23
6.2 Impact in rivers 24

7 Potential changes in human behaviour 26

7.1 What are the key drivers of plastic pollution? 27
7.2 Changes in recycling and uses for waste plastics 28
7.3 What can we do to clean up this mess? 29
7.4 Examples of innovative clean-up methods 30

8 Future concerns 33
8.1 Key future research areas for scientists and policymakers 33

9 Sources of further information 37

10 References/Bibliography 40

3
 Review of Current Knowledge

Figures Page
1 Global Plastic production from 1950 to 2014 and estimated future 7
trends to 2050

2 Polymer types, symbols used to identify them, and examples their

uses 10
3 Principal types of waste plastics 11

4 The Indian Government has vowed to clean up the sacred river 13

Ganges
5 Plastic waste pathways 15

6 Country sources of waste plastics and ocean storage zones 16

7 Estimated time taken for plastics to degrade 17

8 Pathways of plastic in the marine environment 20

9 The tracks of ocean currents showing the locations of the 5 major 22

gyres
10 The fate of floating plastic released in the Severn Estuary after 9 22
years
11 Green sea turtle entangled in debris 24

12 The DPSIR framework in relation to inputs and impacts of plastics 28

and microplastics in the marine environment
13 Illustration of OCEANCLEANUP collecting surface plastic 31

14 How the Seabin is deployed from a floating dock 32

15 A Seabin ready for installation 32

16 Bongo nets being deployed from a vessel to sample oceanic plastics 36

4
 Review of Current Knowledge

1 Introduction
The presence of waste plastic in the surface water environment has developed into
a serious problem. It is not only unpleasant, but is a threat to sea birds, aquatic
mammals, fish and ultimately to human health. Plastic waste in the marine
environment was first reported in the 1970s. However, in early 2018 the BBC TV
series Blue Planet II had a major effect on the public consciousness, when the
global issue of plastic pollution in the natural world was addressed by the series
presenter, Sir David Attenborough. The topic has captured the media and public
interest. The debate on what can be done has developed day to day and the issue
has rarely been out of the news. Some dramatic and questionable statistics on the
amount of plastic in the sea have been published. Among this avalanche of media
concern, this ROCK seeks to explore the present problem in the surface waters of
the planet and to review information on our behaviour and potential solutions.

Plastics production began in the 1940s. These materials have found widespread
uses in packaging and manufacturing with inadequate attention to waste control
and recycling. Most plastics are not biodegradable and some can take up to
centuries to break down. Consequently, contamination of the marine and
freshwater environment has been a growing problem. Plastics are both abundant
and widespread within the marine and freshwater environment, found in their
highest concentrations along coastlines. Ingestion of the small particles which
result as products break down (microplastics), has been demonstrated in a range of
freshwater and marine organisms, a process which may facilitate the transfer of
chemical additives or waterborne pollutants to biota. There is, therefore, concern
about the effects of this material in the environment. Figure 1 shows the growth in
global plastic production from 1950 to 2014 and estimated future trends to 2050.

It must be acknowledged that not all plastics and their uses are “bad”. There are
reasonable arguments for their use in packaging to prolong the shelf-life of food
products. There are many uses where it protects products effectively. However,
plastic packaging has become so ubiquitous that it is being used in many
unnecessary ways. It has become a cheap and effective method. One problem is
that the disposal of waste has not adapted to the very different properties of plastic.
It does not readily break down and is persistent in the environment in ways which
more traditional paper-based products are not. Although recycling has improved,
the variety of types of plastic waste make a coherent strategy for reuse and
methods of processing more difficult. In the UK it is local authorities who have the
responsibility for recycling. This has created confusion due to the many different
types of plastic waste and the different local approaches. This has led to a lack of
coherence between the types of plastics which are accepted in recycling schemes.

5
 Review of Current Knowledge

It is suggested that reducing the number of different plastics used, to simplify

processing, clearly labelling the recycling type, and a more uniform national
approach would help to reduce pollution. Most urgently, it is the globally
widespread plastic waste in our waters which is damaging the natural world and
which must be addressed to avert environmental catastrophe.

There are three basic questions:

1. How much plastic is in the marine environment?
2. What are the impacts of plastics in the marine environment?
3. What is the risk to a particular organism or species from a particular type of
plastic debris?

Chapter 2 describes the different types of plastics and their uses. Chapter 3
considers sources of waste plastic and how it gets into the environment. Chapter 4
examines the persistence of plastic in terms of the long periods taken to decay. The
movement of waste material and the paths and places it accumulates are described
in Chapter 5. Chapter 6 examines the environmental impacts. Potential changes in
the way we use and dispose of plastics are discussed in Chapter 7. Chapter 8
considers the knowledge we will need and how this can be acquired.

Sources of further information are listed and a bibliography is provided to enable

further reading.

6
 Review of Current Knowledge

Figure 1 Global Plastic production from 1950 to 2014 and estimated future trends to
2050
Source: Ryan, P.G. (2015) A Brief History of Marine Litter Research. In: M.
Bergmann, L. Gutow and M. Klages (eds.) Marine Anthropogenic Litter. Cham:
Springer

7
 Review of Current Knowledge

2. Types of plastics and their uses

Plastics are polymers which are large molecules made of repeating units of smaller
molecules (monomers) that are chemically bound together. A polymer is like a
chain in which each link is a monomer. All plastic is made of carbon. Man-made
plastic uses carbon derived from oil, while biopolymers or bioplastics use carbon
derived from natural materials. Plastics can be divided into two major categories
called thermosetting plastics and thermoplastics (Kutz, 2002).

Thermosetting or thermoset plastics retain their shapes once cooled and cannot
return to their original form. They are hard and durable. They can be used for car
parts, aircraft parts and tyres. Examples include polyurethanes, polyesters, epoxy
resins and phenolic resins. Thermoplastics are less rigid than thermosets and can
soften upon heating and return to their original form. They are easily moulded and
extruded into films, fibres and packaging. Examples are polyethylene (PE),
polypropylene (PP) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC).

In 1941 John Rex Whinfield invented a new polymer when he condensed ethylene
glycol with terephthalic acid. The condensate was polyethylene terephthalate (PET
or PETE). PET is a thermoplastic that can be drawn into fibres (like Dacron) and
films (like Mylar). It is the main plastic in food storage bags and supermarket
shopping bags.

Polystyrene (Styrofoam) is formed by styrene molecules. The double bond between

the CH2 and CH parts of the molecule rearranges to form a bond with adjacent
styrene molecules, producing polystyrene. It can form a hard impact-resistant
plastic for furniture, cabinets (for computer monitors and TVs), glasses and
utensils. When polystyrene is heated, and air blown through the mixture, it forms
Styrofoam which is lightweight, mouldable and an excellent insulator.

Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) is a thermoplastic that is formed when vinyl chloride

(CH2=CH-Cl) polymerizes. When made, it is brittle, so manufacturers add a
plasticizer liquid to make it soft and mouldable. PVC is commonly used for pipes
and plumbing because it's durable, can't be corroded and is cheaper than metal
pipes. Over long periods of time, however, the plasticizer may leach out of it,
rendering it brittle and breakable.

Polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon). Teflon was first made in 1938 by DuPont. It is

created by polymerization of tetrafluoroethylene molecules (CF2=CF2). The
polymer is stable, heat-resistant, strong, resistant to many chemicals and has a

8
 Review of Current Knowledge

nearly frictionless surface. Teflon is used in plumbing tape, cookware, tubing,

waterproof coatings, films and bearings.

Polyvinylidine Chloride (PVDC or Saran). Dow makes Saran resins, which are
synthesized by polymerization of vinylidine chloride molecules (CH2=CCl2). The
polymer can be drawn into films and wraps that are impermeable to food odours.
Saran wrap is a popular plastic for packaging foods.

Polyethylene, LDPE and HDPE: The most common polymer in plastics is

polyethylene, which is made from ethylene monomers (CH2=CH2). The first
polyethylene was made in 1934. Today, we call it low-density polyethylene
(LDPE) because it will float in a mixture of alcohol and water. In LDPE, the
polymer strands are entangled and loosely organized, so it's soft and flexible. It
was first used to insulate electrical wires, but today it's used in films, wraps,
bottles, disposable gloves and rubbish bags.

In the 1950s, Karl Ziegler polymerized ethylene in the presence of various metals.
The resulting polyethylene polymer was composed of mostly linear polymers. This
linear form produced tighter, denser, more organized structures and is now called
high-density polyethylene (HDPE). HDPE is a harder plastic with a higher melting
point than LDPE, and it sinks in an alcohol-water mixture. HDPE was first
introduced in the hula hoop, but today it is mostly used in containers.

Polypropylene (PP). In 1953, Karl Ziegler and Giulio Natta, working

independently, prepared polypropylene from propylene monomers
(CH2=CHCH3). The various forms of polypropylene have different melting points
and hardnesses. Polypropylene is used in car trim, battery cases, bottles, tubes,
filaments and bags.

Figure 2 lists the standard plastic types and their identifying symbols often found
on the respective products.

9
 Review of Current Knowledge

Polymer Types Examples of uses Symbol

Polyethylene
Fizzy drink and water bottles. Salad trays.
Terephthalate

High Density Milk bottles, bleach, cleaners and most

Polyethylene shampoo bottles.

Pipes, fittings, window and door frames

Polyvinyl
(rigid PVC). Thermal insulation (PVC foam)
Chloride
and automotive parts.

Low Density
Carrier bags, bin liners and packaging films.
Polyethylene

Margarine tubs, microwaveable meal trays, also

Polypropylene produced as fibres and filaments for carpets, wall
coverings and vehicle upholstery.

Yoghurt pots, foam hamburger boxes and egg cartons,

plastic cutlery, protective packaging for electronic
Polystyrene
goods and toys. Insulating material in the building and
construction industry.

Any other plastics that do not fall into any of the

Unallocated
above categories - for example polycarbonate which
References
is often used in glazing for the aircraft industry

Figure 2 Polymer Types, symbols used to identify them, and examples of their
uses
Source : Adapted from Waste and Resource Action Programme (WRAP)
2018

10
 Review of Current Knowledge

3 Sources of plastic waste

3.1 How plastic enters the environment

The low cost, the ready availability, and myriad of uses of plastics in everyday
items and in packaging have led to the proliferation of consumer waste. In
developing countries where many commodities are relatively expensive compared
to income, the supply of goods in small quantities in plastic sachets has become the
norm. However, this has not been accompanied by good waste management
practices. Consequently, much of the discarded plastic is disposed of carelessly
and ends up in waterways.

Figure 3 indicates for a global perspective the contributions of various types of

waste plastics. More than 80 percent of the annual input of plastic litter, such as
drink bottles and plastic packaging, comes from land-based sources. The remainder
comes from plastics released at sea, such as lost and discarded fishing gear.

Figure 3 Principal types of waste plastics

Source: BilkulOnline.

Vehicle tyres are a significant problem, releasing 270 thousand tonnes of debris
into global waterways annually. The tiny non-biodegradable pieces of plastic from

11
 Review of Current Knowledge

tyres are a cause for concern as they are ingested by plankton and juvenile fish and
work their way up the food chain. Microplastics have been found in ice cores,
across the seafloor, vertically throughout the ocean and on every beach worldwide.
EcoWatch has pointed out that microplastics are also very absorbent, meaning they
pick up the chemicals they float in.

The most visible waste is macroplastic (generally greater than 1mm) which breaks
down to smaller sizes (microplastics), making the problem of management even
more difficult. The issue of microplastics in freshwater systems has been covered
in an associated ROCK. Readers are referred to this publication to complement the
descriptions here. See Microplastics in the Freshwater Environment FR/R0027,
October 2017.

Eunomia Research and Consulting ( http://www.eunomia.co.uk ) has produced an

estimate of annual global emissions of "primary" microplastics, such as
microbeads, fibres or pellets. "Secondary" microplastics are the result of larger
pieces of plastic breaking down into smaller pieces. It calculated that emissions of
microplastics range from 0.5 to 1.4 million tonnes per year, with a medium
estimate of 0.95 million tonnes.

3.2 The major river sources of waste plastics

Transport of plastics by rivers is a potential mechanism that connects plastic debris

generated on land with the marine environment. Plastic loads in rivers are directly
related to mis-managed plastic waste. Population size and the quality of waste
management systems largely determine which countries contribute the greatest
mass of uncaptured waste available to become plastic marine debris. (Jambeck et
al., 2015).

It has been estimated that about 90 percent of the plastic polluting our oceans
comes from just ten rivers (Schmidt et al., 2017). Eight of these rivers are in Asia,
while the remaining two, the Nile and the Niger, are in Africa. These river
catchments are in countries with large populations and high economic growth but a
poor waste infrastructure. Without waste management infrastructure
improvements, the cumulative quantity of plastic waste available to enter the ocean
from land is predicted to increase by an order of magnitude by 2025. Of the total
waste generated within river catchments, only a small fraction of about 0.05 % has
been found to be mobile in rivers. This suggests that a substantial fraction of
plastic debris accumulates in river systems. The view in Figure 4 below has
become a common sight in developing countries.

12
 Review of Current Knowledge

Figure 4 The Indian government has vowed to clean up the sacred river Ganges.
Source: REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri

The biggest offenders are two of the largest rivers in the world. The Yangtze and
the Ganges carry over 900,000 tons of plastic between them to the ocean every
year. By comparison, the Thames dumps 19 tons of plastic into the sea annually. It
is estimated that between 4m and 12m metric tonnes of plastic makes its way into
the ocean each year. This is likely to rise, and it has been suggested that by 2050
the amount of plastic in the sea will outweigh the amount of fish.

The Indus and the Ganges, which flow through India, carry the second and sixth
highest amounts of plastic debris to the ocean. In 2011 the Indian government
launched the Namami Gange project in a bid to clean the Ganges, but recently the
National Green Tribunal, India’s dedicated environmental court, said that “not a
single drop of the Ganga has been cleaned so far”. At the United Nations
Environment Assembly in December 2017, India along with 193 other nations,
signed a resolution to reduce marine plastic waste. In 2010, the National Green
Tribunal Act of the Indian parliament introduced a ban on disposable plastics in
Delhi, while non-biodegradable plastic bags are banned in many states. It is
claimed that halving the plastic input from the catchment areas of these rivers
would already be a major success (Schmidt et al., 2017). To achieve this, it will be
necessary to improve the waste management and raise public awareness for the
issue. It is hoped that the Indian study will contribute to positive development so

13
 Review of Current Knowledge

that the plastic problem in our oceans can be curbed in the long run. While it
would be practically impossible to clean up the damage already done, tackling the
sources of pollution along these rivers could see overall plastic pollution from
rivers almost halved. It is claimed in that reducing plastic loads by 50 percent in
the 10 top-ranked rivers this would reduce the total river-based load to the sea by
45 percent. Analysis reveals that plastic loads of large rivers disproportionately
increase in relation to the increase of plastic debris available for transport.

3.3 Interaction of plastics in rivers and coasts with the oceans

Eunomia have compiled a report ( http://www.eunomia.co.uk/reports-

tools/plastics-in-the-marine-environment/ ) of their research. The report shows that
94 percent of the plastic that enters the ocean ends up on the ocean floor, with an
estimated average of 70 kilograms of plastic per square kilometre of sea bed.
Figure 5 demonstrates the sources and fates of plastics. The report highlights a
common misunderstanding in which ocean plastic is often portrayed as a rubbish
patch about the size of France floating in the middle of the ocean. Despite the high
profile of projects intended to clean up plastics floating in mid-ocean, relatively
little actually ends up there. Only 1% of marine plastics are found floating at or
near the ocean surface, with an average global concentration of less than 1kg/km2.
This concentration increases at certain mid-ocean locations, with the highest
concentration recorded in the North Pacific Gyre at 18kg/km2. By contrast, the
amount estimated to be on beaches globally is five times greater, and importantly,
the concentration is much higher, at 2,000kg/km2. While some may have been
dropped directly, and other plastics may have been washed up, what is clear is that
there is a "flux" of litter between beaches and the sea. By removing beach litter, we
are therefore cleaning the oceans.

14
 Review of Current Knowledge
15

Figure 5 Plastic waste pathways

Source: Reproduced with the permission of Eunomia Consultants
 Review of Current Knowledge

Figure 6 shows the primary source countries where improved management is

required. Note the level of mismanaged plastic waste in China. The Chinese have
recently reacted to this problem by not accepting Western waste which was
previously processed there. This may force the developed countries to reprocess
their own and to introduce better local recycling.

Figure 6 Country sources of waste plastics and ocean storage zones.

Source: Jambeck et al., (2015) Science, UNEP, NCEAS.

16
 Review of Current Knowledge

4 How persistent is plastic in the environment?

A normal plastic bottle takes about 450 years to break down completely, so the
components of a bottle dropped in the ocean today could still be polluting the
waters for 16 generations. Plastic bags can take 20 years to decompose and fishing
line, 600 years; but in fact, no one really knows how long plastics will remain in
the ocean (See Figure 7). With exposure to UV rays and the ocean environment,
plastic breaks down into smaller and smaller fragments and some proportion
eventually to nanoplastics of 100 nanometres or less (Microplastics in the
Freshwater Environment, FWR (2017).

Plastic waste has accumulated in the oceans since mass production began in the
1940s. Some of it was just dumped from ships, as international agreements
banning the waste disposal at sea only came into force in 1988. Today, however,
experts estimate that most of the waste found in the oceans, whether it is washed
up on their shores or spiralling in their gyres, comes from land-based sources. For
instance, winds blow litter from the shores into the sea, and rivers also deliver
much of the waste load that ends up in the oceans. The delivery of plastic waste
from the erosion of coastal landfill sites could continue for centuries, exacerbated
by sea level rise.

Plastic bags
Foamed plastic cups
Aluminium drinks cans
Straws
Nappies
Plastic bottles
Six-pack beer holders
Fishing lines

Figure 7 Estimated time taken for plastics to biodegrade (years)

Source: NOAA/ WOODS HOLE SEA GRANT

As stated previously a lot of plastic debris in the ocean breaks down into smaller
pieces and is ingested by marine life, and it is thought that a significant amount
sinks to the sea bed. Bottles and plastic bags drifting around on the oceans may be
unsightly and disturb marine ecosystems but more and more research suggests that
the visible pollution is only the tip of a vast iceberg of invisibly small plastic
particles (FWR, 2017). Studies by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) of the plastic content of zooplankton samples collected in
ecosystem surveys off the Pacific coast of the US found that plastic waste was

17
 Review of Current Knowledge

ubiquitous, with product fragments in the size range below 2.5 mm being the most
abundant kind (Doyle et al., 2011). These fragments are believed to arise from the
slow degradation of larger plastic debris items through the influence of sunlight
and oxygen. Other categories of small plastic particles include pellets used for
production of plastic goods, and grains included in cosmetic or cleaning products
as abrasives.

18
 Review of Current Knowledge

5 The transport and spread of plastic pollution

5.1 Plastic waste pathways – a mass balance

To address the movement of plastic in the oceans it is useful to consider amounts

in a mass balance exercise (Figure 8) in a similar way to how carbon budgeting has
been carried out since the 1990s to uncover the “missing sink” of anthropogenic
carbon dioxide (Law, 2017).

The mass balance can be evaluated using two approaches: first, assessing the
plastic inputs into and outputs from the marine environment as a whole and
second, quantifying the standing stock of plastics in major marine reservoirs. Of
course, reliance on our knowledge of the present amounts alone is a gross
oversimplification of time-dependent processes, ignoring the flux of plastics
between accumulation zones as well as their transformation within those zones. In
addition, the term plastics refers to a broad collection of synthetic materials that is
further diversified by innumerable combinations of chemical additives; thus, their
behaviour upon entering the marine environment is not easily generalised.
However, the simple box model shown in Figure 8 provides a useful starting point
to evaluate available information and to highlight major gaps in data or
understanding.

In this mass balance of plastics in the marine environment the arrows indicate
fluxes into and out of the marine environment, including potential biodegradation
of plastics. The boxes indicate storage zones of plastic debris, and the black arrows
indicate potential pathways of plastics between these zones. Fragmentation of
plastics caused by weathering and biological processes can occur in all areas,
especially when exposed to sunlight (at the sea surface and along coastlines).

19
 Review of Current Knowledge

Figure 8 Pathways of plastic in the marine environment

Source:Law, K.L., 2017

5.2 Transport of plastic

Oceanographer Erik van Sebille of Imperial College London, and Utrecht

University in the Netherlands, (van Sebille E. et al., 2012) has shown that thanks to
strong ocean currents known as gyres, huge amounts of plastic end up in six
“garbage patches” around the world, the largest one being in the north Pacific.
However, a large proportion of it simply floats around, and thanks to sophisticated
modelling of ocean currents using drifting buoys, we can see where much of it
ends up.

The winds, ocean tides and temperature and salinity gradients drive various types
of currents. The larger and more permanent currents make up the systems of
currents known as gyres. There are different scales of currents, such as eddies,
whirlpools, or deep ocean currents. Larger, sustained currents such as the Gulf
Stream are very important drivers of local climate. There are five major gyres: the

20
 Review of Current Knowledge

North and South Pacific Subtropical Gyres, the North and South Atlantic
Subtropical Gyres, and the Indian Ocean Subtropical Gyre. In some instances, the
term “gyre” is used to refer to the collections of plastic waste and other debris
found in higher concentrations in certain parts of the ocean. While this use of
"gyre" is increasingly common, the term traditionally refers simply to large,
rotating ocean currents.

As can be seen in Figure 9, which shows the tracks of the ocean currents, a bottle
dropped in the water off the coast of China, near Shanghai, is likely be carried
eastward by the north Pacific gyre and end up circulating a few hundred miles off
the coast of the US. A bottle dropped off the Mexican coast, near Acapulco, is
likely to be caught in the same gyre. Some of the plastic waste drifts south, but a
huge amount is swept west towards Asia before floating north and ending up in the
same area – the so-called Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

The North Atlantic is home to another powerful current. The image suggests that
plastic debris that enters the ocean around New York initially heads towards
Europe, with concentration in the Bay of Biscay and, to a lesser extent, the North
Sea, but, in fact, most of it is trapped by the current and ends up floating in the
middle of the ocean.

India is one of the world’s biggest plastic polluters, creating more than 15,000
tonnes of plastic waste a day. The plastic waste that enters the water around
Mumbai is likely to end up either being caught in the Indian Ocean gyre and
floating close to Madagascar, or being swept east and into the Bay of Bengal, one
of the worst places in the world for plastic pollution.

It’s a similar story in the UK. A bottle dropped in the sea off the south coast of
Cornwall may well be dragged through the channel towards Scandinavia, but the
greatest concentrations are again in the Bay of Biscay and the western North
Atlantic. Figure 10 shows the potential destinations of a plastic bottle dropped in
the Severn Estuary. This graphic can be viewed at http://www.plasticadrift.org/
where an online model permits the tracking of floating material from any chosen
location. This is a useful and easy way of understanding the consequences of local
careless disposal.

Currents don’t just move water. They move people and goods, as well as pollution
and debris. To better understand how currents move people and things, NOAA
(National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) collects and shares data on

21
 Review of Current Knowledge

tides and currents. These data guide safe navigation of coastal waters, search and
rescue operations, disaster clean up, and design of coastal development projects.
North Pacific Gyre North Atlantic Gyre

South Pacific Gyre South Atlantic Gyre

Figure 9 The tracks of ocean currents showing the locations of the 5 major gyres.
Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Figure 10 The fate of floating plastic released in the Severn Estuary after 9 years.
Source: van Sebille et al (2012) Environmental Research Letters.

22
 Review of Current Knowledge

6 The environmental impact of waste plastics

6.1 Impact in the oceans

The amount of plastic in our oceans is killing wildlife and damaging habitats.
Ecological problems arise when sea birds mistake plastic items for food.
Albatrosses, for example, are known to feed plastic debris to their chicks, often
with fatal consequences. The northern fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis), an ocean-
foraging bird found on the shores of both the North Atlantic and the North Pacific,
accumulates plastics in its stomach to such an extent that it now routinely serves as
a biomarker for plastic pollution. Floating debris could also cause ecological havoc
in other ways by carrying species to places where they are not native and
entangling air-breathing organisms, preventing animals from being able to swim to
the surface, causing them to drown (Figure 11).

There is concern that these particles may be ingested by organisms such as various
zooplankton species in marine pelagic ecosystems and enter the food chain with
unknown consequences. While most plastics are assumed to be chemically inert,
the small fragments could accumulate environmental toxins, and in some cases,
release chemicals used in their production. In order to understand the potential for
ingestion of debris particles by such organisms, there is a need for rigorous
investigations of particle encounter rates and incidence of ingestion of plastic
debris across a wide size spectrum of particles and by a diverse range of
zooplankton taxa in different ocean ecosystems. The authors suggest that routine
combination of plankton sampling studies with an analysis of plastic particles
could help to better understand the scale and implications of the problem, but so
far there is still a shortage of data (Doyle et al., 2011).

If the plastic doesn’t get eaten, the further fate of plastic microparticles in the
oceans is not yet clear. It has been proposed that the further decay leads to plastic
nanoparticles in the oceans, which could introduce pollutants into cells by
endocytosis. This occurs when a cell is engulfed by the material (Andrady, 2011).
So far, very little is known about the abundance of such particles or their possible
ecological effects. Investigation into the physical and chemical composition of
plastic waste in the oceans is limited. A study of the composition of plastic debris
in the western North Atlantic Ocean (Morét-Ferguson et al., 2010) found that more
than 88 % of particles were less than 10mm in length and 69 % measuring between
2 and 6 mm. Over time the percentage of smaller sized particles has increased. In
the 1990s, 16 % of plastic particles were 10mm or larger, while in a more recent
study, only 6 % were 10 mm or larger. This suggests that mechanical abrasion and
photochemical breakdown are causing plastic particles to decrease in size.

23
 Review of Current Knowledge

Studies indicate the density of plastic particles on coastlines is similar to that of

virgin plastics. That is, the plastic had changed little from its original form,
whereas at sea the density of plastic particles was greater, indicating a change from
its time at sea. This was thought to be due to biomass accumulation on the plastic
or biofouling, which is likely to increase the density of the plastic. Data on particle
density could help us understand what types of plastics are sinking or floating and
the potential impact of plastics on wildlife.

Figure 11 Green sea turtle entangled in debris.

Source: Public Domain, NOAA

6.2 Impact in rivers

We are familiar with the shocking plastic-related headlines and imagery that has
filled the media channels recently, but a large part of our plastic problem begins
upstream. Plastic pollution is frequently described as an ‘ocean epidemic’.
Although this is true, plastics are much more than an ocean specific issue. Plastics
are everywhere in soil, air and our rivers but for the most part these are
overlooked. As noted earlier, around 80% of marine microplastics come from
freshwater run-off, meaning there is a whole period where microplastics persist in

24
 Review of Current Knowledge

rivers before they are flushed into the ocean. It is important that we stop seeing
rivers simply as plastic ‘couriers’ and answer the big question: what impact are
these plastic particles having on life in freshwater?
It is already known that there is an energy cost associated with ingestion of
microplastics by organisms. That is, plastic consumption affects the survival of
freshwater wildlife because it changes their normal behaviour.
(https://www.salmon-trout.org/2018/08/31/plastic-rivers/ )
For example, when plastic particles are consumed, they mimic fullness, so animals
stop eating and suffer from poor nutrition. There is also potential for
ecotoxicological harm, as plastics act like sponges, absorbing chemicals in the
water. Once eaten, these chemicals can be released from the plastic into whatever
has eaten it, and so forth up the food chain. For salmon and sea trout, we know
chemicals in water have a directly negative effect on completion of their life
cycles, particularly the phase where they transform to become ready for life at sea.
So, it is logical to ask an important question: are these damaging chemicals
becoming more available to these fish - and in higher doses - through the ingestion
of plastic particles?
Wastewater treatment plants (a large input of microplastics comes from domestic
and industrial sources) are currently not designed to remove microplastics
effectively, but new filtration options are being discussed.

25
 Review of Current Knowledge

7 Potential changes in human behaviour

There is huge scope for positive change, with people and businesses being more
aware of their plastic footprints than ever before. From paper straws to reusable
cups, every change we make is a win for the water environment.

Awareness of the problem is increasing, and advocacy groups, such as Ocean

Conservancy, Plastic Pollution Coalition, and 5 Gyres, are working with scientists,
politicians, and industry to find viable solutions. Small steps that have been taken
include local bans on the most avoidable single-use plastic products like shopping
bags and small water bottles. The company Unilever announced that it would
phase out the use of plastic particles (‘microbeads’) in its cosmetics products. The
website http://www.marinedebrissolutions.com/ lists further measures taken by the
industry.

Solutions will necessarily require a combination of more scientific research to

determine where to best put effort and resources; technological innovations; and
public and policy initiatives to reduce, reuse, and recycle so that the flow of plastic
to the ocean is stemmed.

Finding solutions
Many important questions concerning the plastic pollution of the oceans remain
unanswered (Law, 2017). For instance, there are no reliable data regarding how
much plastic goes into the system, and on what timescale it decays to
microplastics. The abundant evidence of the presence of this contaminant in the
ocean, combined with a precautionary approach, suggests that we should not wait
for the preponderance of evidence before acting to reduce potential threats of
plastic debris. So what is to be done to clean up this global mess we created in less
than a century? As most of the plastic waste that floats seems to accumulate in
gyres, could it be harvested from there systematically?

Observers of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch have been sceptical about the
possibility of removal. There are zooplankton and other organisms attached to the
plastic. If we try to remove the plastic from the ocean, we could simultaneously
remove the normal flora and fauna and disrupt the ocean ecosystem. A better
option may be to stop more plastic from entering the ocean. Perhaps removal of a
significant proportion of the plastic would simply not be feasible in terms of the
resources needed.

It is not necessarily helpful if the plastic waste is labelled ‘biodegradable’.

‘Biodegradable’ materials are not currently a solution, as most materials are

26
 Review of Current Knowledge

designed to degrade in industrial composting facilities, and their behaviour is

untested in seawater. Some materials are designed to rapidly break up into small
pieces, however the remaining fragments present a larger risk since they are
accessible to a larger suite of organisms.

7.1 What are the key drivers of plastic pollution?

In the marine environment most litter is plastic, with items of metal, glass and
paper being considerably less abundant (Galgani et al., 2010). These trends are
consistent worldwide and, as a consequence, the accumulation of plastic litter has
been identified as a major global problem by the United Nations Environment
Assembly and in the G7 Leader´s declaration 2015 (Werner et al., 2016). While
the focus was on the marine environment, freshwater habitats are also
contaminated with plastic, and rivers provide major pathways of plastics to the
ocean (GESAMP, 2016).

The most common polymers, polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyvinyl

chloride (PVC) polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polystyrene (PS) can be
made into a vast range of inexpensive, light-weight and durable products that bring
numerous societal benefits. This has resulted in an exponential increase in global
demand, from around 5 million tonnes in the 1950s to over 300 million tonnes
today. Current annual demand in the UK is around 37 million tonnes
(www.plasticseurope.org). Some applications of plastics have a long service life,
such as PVC and PP components in vehicles or the construction industry.
However, around 40 per cent of all the plastic produced is used for packaging,
which is predominantly single-use. These items are frequently made of PE or PET
and represent a substantial proportion of the waste managed via landfill,
incineration and recycling (Barnes et al. 2009). Single-use items, together with
rope and netting, are also the most abundant types of litter found in the marine
environment (Ocean Conservancy 2017; see Nelms et al., 2017).

Interactions between society and the environment can be described and summarised
using the Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) framework (Figure 12).
In this regard, an overriding Driver, leading to accumulation of litter is the demand
for plastic items. These include items used in a range of applications, for example in
transport, construction and packaging. The associated waste, which is dominated by
single-use items, puts Pressure on waste management systems. Evidence shows that
a combination of ineffective waste capture and ineffective sewage treatment,
together with product designs that do not reflect end-of-life scenarios and littering
behaviour, all contribute to the release of plastics to the environment. Since plastics
are persistent, they are accumulating, leading to the current State of environmental
contamination and this leads to a wide range of Impacts. In this context, waste can

27
 Review of Current Knowledge

be defined as something of little or no value and hence the problem may be

exacerbated by the inexpensive nature of most plastics, which facilitates short-lived
applications and can also present an obstacle to the viability of recycling; which
is one of the potential solutions or Responses that could help reduce the
accumulation of plastics.

Figure 12 The DPSIR framework in relation to inputs and impacts of plastics and
microplastics in the marine environment
Source: Modified from original by Kershaw (ed) in GESAMP, 2015.

7.2 Changes in recycling and uses for waste plastics

Public awareness, improved recycling and uses for waste plastics are clearly ways
in which the amount of plastic waste in the environment can be reduced. More
careful and essential commercial use of plastic wrapping and containers would also
reduce waste, which a proportion of inevitably ends up in waterways and the
oceans. The following specific behaviours may help to control the problem. There
is a great deal of media discussion about better recycling; using fewer plastic types
to simplify recycling and incentives, taxes, and education. (Poortinga, et al., 2016).

28
 Review of Current Knowledge

7.3 What can we do to clean up this mess?

Reduce use of single-use plastics

Single-use plastics include plastic bags, water bottles, straws, cups, utensils, dry
cleaning bags, take-away containers, and any other plastic items that are used once
and then discarded. This can be done by refusing any single-use plastics that you
do not need (e.g. straws, plastic bags, takeaway utensils), purchasing, and carrying
with you, reusable versions of those products, including reusable supermarket
bags, bottles, utensils, coffee cups, and dry cleaning bags. A UK levy of 5p per bag
introduced in 2015 has already reduced single-use plastic bags given out by major
retailers by 85% – down from 140 to 25 bags for the average person each year,
(WRAP, 2014). Plastic “ear buds” have become well known as a public health
hazard. Some have never been near ears. The governments in Scotland and
England have announced plans to ban them.

Recycle and improve recycling instructions.

When you use single-use (and other) plastics that can be recycled, always be sure
to recycle them. This helps keep them out of the ocean and reduces the amount of
“new” plastic in circulation. We know the basics: tins, glass and paper but plastic
film is uncertain. We use more than a million tonnes of plastic film per annum,
most of which isn’t recycled. What about those trays that fish comes in, with no
information on them? Manufacturers and retailers should be encouraged to label
every piece of packaging, including lids and fastenings so we know what to do
with them. Each council collects their plastic recycling differently. BBC analysis
shows there are 39 different sets of rules for what can be put in plastic recycling
collections. Homogenisation is required to improve recycling rates. Landfill
practice needs to be improved to prevent plastic waste from getting into
watercourses or coastal water.

Reduce single-use plastics

Plastic forks are more ubiquitous than ever, as salads and other non-hand-held
lunch options proliferate. Biodegradable alternatives or reusable ones should be
encouraged. The government has announced a deposit return scheme for plastic
bottles (in a reverse vending machine), and the Glastonbury festival has announced
a ban. We need to go further, faster. Drinking fountains must become the standard
in public and private places. Plastic cups, including coffee cups should be reusable
or biodegradable. Biodegradable means that the product may be broken down by
living organisms, such as bacteria and fungi (eventually becoming wholly or partly
mineralized to CO2 and water). In fact, a polymer can only be legitimately termed
biodegradable when it passes a composting test under standard conditions and
within a set timeframe. However, such conditions are not found in the environment

29
 Review of Current Knowledge

at large and such polymers therefore do not biodegrade to any significant extent
under natural conditions; this includes the marine environment.

Participate in a Beach or River Clean-up

Help remove plastics from rivers and beaches and prevent them from getting there
in the first place by participating in, or organizing, a clean-up of your local beach
or waterway. This could be one of the most direct ways to reduce ocean plastic
pollution.

Support Bans
Many local authorities around the world have enacted bans on single use plastic
bags, take-away containers, and bottles.

Avoid Microbeads
The tiny plastic particles, called “microbeads” have become a growing source of
water plastic pollution in recent years. Microbeads are found in some face scrubs,
toothpastes, and bodywashes, and they readily enter our oceans and waterways
through our sewer systems, affecting hundreds of marine species. Avoid products
containing plastic microbeads by looking for “polyethylene” and “polypropylene”
on the ingredient labels of your cosmetic products. (See a list of products:
http://www.beatthemicrobead.org/product-lists/ )

Spread the Word

Stay informed on issues related to plastic pollution and help make others aware of
the problem. There are many non-profit organizations working to tackle the
problem of river and ocean plastic pollution in a variety of different ways.

Blue Planet’s footage of albatross nests full of rubbish may have been (literally)
the last plastic straw for public indifference. It must be emphasized that globally 2
million plastic bags and 1 million plastic bottles are bought per minute. The fishing
industry loses 1 million tonnes of plastic gear per annum (see
https://www.statista.com for some general statistical information.). A return to the
use of hemp for nets should be examined.

7.4 Examples of innovative clean-up methods

Prevention of the waste problem by recycling is obviously an important strategy.

However, given the problem of large quantities of waste plastics at sea, methods of
collecting this material are being implemented.

30
 Review of Current Knowledge

The Ocean Cleanup system 101.

The Ocean Cleanup is a passive system, using the natural oceanic forces to catch
and concentrate the plastic. The frontispiece shows this system being launched in
the Pacific. Both the plastic and system are carried by the current. However, wind
and waves propel only the system, as the floater sits just above the water surface,
while the plastic is primarily just beneath it. The system thus moves faster than the
plastic, allowing the plastic to be captured. This system has been deployed as
shown in Figure 13 to attempt to clean half the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in a
decade (https://www.theoceancleanup.com/).

Figure 13 Illustration of OCEANCLEANUP collecting surface plastic

Source: Permission of Oceancleanup North Pacific Foundation

The Seabin Project

At a more local level the Seabin is a floating rubbish bin that is located in the water
at marinas, docks, yacht clubs and commercial ports. The Seabin moves up and
down with the range of tide collecting floating rubbish. Water is sucked in from
the surface and passes through a catch bag inside the Seabin, with a submersible
water pump, capable of displacing 25.000 litres per hour plugged directly into a
110/220 V outlet. The water is then pumped back into the marina leaving litter and
debris trapped in the catch bag to be disposed of properly. The Seabin also has the
potential to collect a proportion of oils and pollutants floating on the water surface.
The diagram in Figure 14 shows how this device is located on a floating marina
and Figure 15 shows an example ready for deployment.

31
 Review of Current Knowledge

Figure 14 How the Seabin is deployed from a floating dock

Source: Permission of The Seabin Project (https://www.seabinproject.com/ )

Figure 15 A Seabin ready for installation

Source: Permission of The Seabin Project (https://www.seabinproject.com/ )

32
 Review of Current Knowledge

8 Future concerns

Almost all research on plastic contamination in water systems focuses on oceans.

However, a major problem is plastic in freshwater ecosystems, according to a
Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) biologist (Wagner et
al., 2014). It must be remembered that this impact extends well beyond the marine
environment. In fact, most plastic pollution begins in our rivers, where it will also
be having an impact - one that often seems overlooked. New research is being
commissioned and investigations are being made into understanding and
controlling the freshwater element of plastic pollution. The Foundation for Water
Research ROCK on Microplastics in the Freshwater Environment deals with this
aspect. This chapter therefore concentrates on ocean concerns.

8.1 Key future research areas for scientists and policymakers

While the visual impact of waste plastic on beaches, on surface water in rivers and
on the ocean is obvious and some knowledge of the sources and quantities are
understood, there are many aspects of the problem which remain to be
investigated. Better information is required by labelling plastic products to enable
improved consumer choices.

The main research issues can be summarised as:

1) measurement of plastic contamination;
2) risks to the environment and humans;
3) toxic chemicals in plastic waste;
4) mitigation of the effects of plastic waste and removal from the rivers and
oceans.

Researchers now plan to study how long plastic takes to get to the sea once in the
river, which is key to working out how best to prevent it. Some difficulties and
ambitions with this research are expanded in the following:

The marine surface - monitoring plastic waste floating at sea.

Surveys at sea are more expensive and challenging than beach surveys and can
only assess standing (or floating) quantities rather than accumulation rates because
it is impossible to perform a complete clean-up. Amounts of floating debris can be
estimated either by direct observation or by net trawls. Most observation surveys
are conducted from ships or small boats. Aerial surveys have also been used which
have the advantage of covering large areas but the disadvantage of only detecting
large items of waste (Ryan et al., 2009). In 2008, an assessment prepared by MED

33
 Review of Current Knowledge

POL (the marine pollution assessment and control component of the Mediterranean
Action Plan) reported finding 2.1 items of general debris per km2 floating in the
Mediterranean Sea (observation with binoculars) and 83 per cent of this waste was
plastic (Cheshire et al.,2009). All observation surveys suffer discrepancies between
individual observers (inter-observer variability), but variability can also occur for
other reasons, such as meteorological conditions, ocean currents and the constant
movement of plastic waste. For example, in a visual survey of general debris
conducted in the north-western Mediterranean 15-25 items per km2 were reported
in 1997, and just 1.5-3 items per km2 were reported in 2000 (Aliani et al., 2003).

In general, net-based surveys tend to be less subjective. Most research has been
done using Neuston or Manta trawl nets, which have a small mesh (usually
0.3mm), and small net opening and thus focus on microplastics. Manta trawls have
been used to sample and characterise the large gyre systems in the oceans with
elevated amounts of clustered marine litter (Pichel et al., 2007). One of the most
well-known research programmes that use this method is the Algalita Centre,
which regularly monitors the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre (see Figure 9).

Monitoring plastic debris in rivers and estuaries

Studying plastic waste in rivers and estuaries could prove useful in trying to
identify sources. Browne et al. (2010) investigated the composition of plastic
debris on the banks of a UK estuary from both the surface and the underlying 3cm
of sediment. Microplastic (less than 1mm) accounted for 65 per cent of debris and
mainly (80 per cent) consisted of the denser plastics such as PVC, polyester and
polyamide. Macroplastics tended to be less dense. There are a number of possible
explanations for this. For example, it could be that denser plastics are more likely
to suffer weathering as they are in contact with abrasive particles in sediment, or it
could be that denser microplastics are easier to distinguish from the sediment so
appear to be more abundant. The research found a larger amount of microplastics
at the more exposed sites towards the mouth of the estuary where debris is likely to
experience strong wave action and abrasion. Another possible source is the
discharge from sewage treatment, as domestic laundry acts a source of fibres or
microplastics. The consumer needs to be informed about which clothing products
produce microplastic fibres when washed.

Strong currents in large rivers may transport litter offshore while in the smaller
rivers, where currents are weaker, the litter tends to become beached in the
estuaries. As existing research indicates, there is much speculation about the
reasons for the composition and distribution of plastic debris and much still needs
to be done on the major influences to identify where policy can be effective. More
systematic monitoring could provide a picture of how much debris is being

34
 Review of Current Knowledge

transported by rivers, which in turn could provide a baseline to support decisions

by policymakers on how to prevent plastic entering rivers.

Monitoring plastic waste in the water column and on the seafloor

Most studies tend to sample floating plastic debris, but it is also important to
monitor suspended plastic and plastic on the seabed. Bongo nets (used for plankton
sampling. See Figure 16) can be used to sample suspended debris, while trawl
surveys, scuba diver surveys, and submarine vehicles can be used to sample plastic
waste on the sea bottom. Data from ‘Fishing for Litter’ activities organised by
national governments in the Netherlands, Scotland, England and Wales found that
plastic made up a large percentage of marine litter on the seabed. For example, in
Scotland 55 per cent of the 3464 items of marine litter recovered (which made up
117 tonnes in weight) were plastic (KIMO, 2008).

Plastic Waste: Ecological and Human Health Impacts

There are knowledge gaps concerning exposure levels to chemicals associated with
plastic waste. Better understanding is needed of the impact of chemicals associated
with plastic waste on the environment and human health. This would include the
differential impacts of chemicals on different forms of wildlife. Better
understanding is needed of the biological mechanisms involved in the exposure of
humans and animals to chemicals associated with plastic waste and the transfer of
chemicals into biological systems.

In terms of management, it would be useful to identify the sources and routes by

which wildlife and humans are exposed to chemicals in plastic waste. If possible,
some kind of identification of which plastics transfer contaminants and which
contaminants are most likely to be adsorbed and transferred. This would include
more land-based research on plastic waste and research on chemicals in landfills,
particularly measuring level of additives leached into the environment (Oehlmann
et al., 2009).

35
 Review of Current Knowledge

Figure 16 Bongo nets being deployed from a vessel to sample oceanic plastics
Source: NOAA

Policy research
There are a number of research gaps that need to be addressed to provide a stronger
evidence-base on which to develop policy. Some of these are at the detailed level
of impact, such as the actual levels of chemical exposure caused by plastic waste.
Others are more action-orientated, for example, identifying potential hotspots
where plastic waste is problematic, identifying high-risk products that use plastic
or identifying wildlife and human groups that are more vulnerable to the impacts
of plastic waste. However, the very nature of plastic waste as a fluctuating and
mobile issue means that science is unlikely to be able to answer all the questions. It
may be preferable to take policy action before waiting for a completely clear
research picture to emerge to avoid the risk of impacts worsening and becoming
more difficult to manage in the future. (See
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/integration/research/newsalert/pdf/IR1_en.pdf).

36
 Review of Current Knowledge

9 Sources of further information

(All websites accessed on 10/11/2018)

https://www.ceh.ac.uk/get-involved/ceh-newsletter-mailing-list
Centre for Ecology and Hydrology Newsletter and further information on microplastics.

http://www.beatthemicrobead.org/ProductTable.php?colour=2&country=GB&language=
EN
Cosmetics containing microplastics can harm the ocean. This is a list of products
containing microbeads.

https://www.oceanicsociety.org/blog/1720/7-ways-to-reduce-ocean-plastic-pollution-
today
The Oceanic Society, PO Box 844, Ross California CA 94957, USA.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-42264788
Seven charts that explain the plastic pollution problem.

www.bpf.co.uk/packaging/environment.aspx
Presents the positive case for the use of plastics.

http://plastic-pollution.org/
Santa Aguila Foundation, PO Box 5006, Santa Barbara, California, 93150, USA.

https://www.sas.org.uk/our-work/plastic-pollution/plastic-pollution-facts-figures/
Surfers against sewage.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jun/28/a-million-a-minute-worlds-
plastic-bottle-binge-as-dangerous-as-climate-change
The Guardian

http://www.eunomia.co.uk/
Specialist, independent consultants concerned with the environment.

https://www.ecowatch.com/80-of-ocean-plastic-comes-from-land-based-sources-new-
report-finds-1891173457.html
EcoWatch is an environmental news site.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/ng-interactive/2018/apr/18/the-great-
australian-garbage-map-75-of-beach-rubbish-made-of-plastic
Data on Australian coastal pollution.

37
 Review of Current Knowledge

https://www.greenfacts.org/en/marine-litter/l-3/2-kinds-of-plastic-waste.htm
Digest on plastic in the environment.

https://www.britannica.com/science/plastic-pollution
Encyclopaedia Britannica entry on plastic pollution.

www.bpf.co.uk/plastipedia/Default.aspx
Commercial information on plastic types and uses.

https://www.lifewithoutplastic.com/store/common_plastics_no_1_to_no_7#.W-
W5NfZ2uUm
Alternatives to plastic in everyday life.

http://2016.igem.org/Team:KoreaSonyeodul/HP/Silver
Views of a private sponsored interest group.

https://science.howstuffworks.com/plastic4.htm and
https://science.howstuffworks.com/plastic2.htm
Information on how plastics work.

https://granthaminstitute.com/2015/09/08/where-can-we-best-tackle-the-ocean-plastics-
problem/
Blog run by the Grantham Institute - Climate Change and the Environment. An Institute
of Imperial College London.

www.wrap.org.uk/
WRAP works with governments, businesses and communities to deliver practical
solutions to improve resource efficiency.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2017-02-27/plastic-and-plastic-waste-
explained/8301316
An Australian media perspective.

https://www.ncl.ac.uk/press/articles/latest/2018/09/plastics/
Work at Newcastle University.

https://www.theoceancleanup.com/technology/
The Ocean Cleanup technologies to rid the world's oceans of plastic.

https://www.seabinproject.com/
A rubbish collector for marinas and harbours.

https://www.darrinqualman.com/global-plastics-production/
Information on global plastic production.

38
 Review of Current Knowledge

https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/hazards/marinedebris/plastics-in-the-ocean.html
US agency information on plastics in the ocean. The oceanservice website is a very wide
and useful source on ocean research.

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/integration/research/newsalert/pdf/IR1_en.pdf
Science for Environment Policy, In-depth Reports, Plastic Waste: Ecological and Human
Health Impacts, November 2011.

https://orca.cf.ac.uk/94652/1/Cardiff_University_Plastic_Bag_Report_A4%20%28final%
20proof%29.pdf
Poortinga, W. Sautkina, E. Thomas, G.O, and Wolstenholme, E. (2016). The English
plastic bag charge: Changes in attitudes and behaviour. Cardiff : Welsh School of
Architecture/School of Psychology, Cardiff University.

https://marinedebris.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/publications-
files/2015_TurningTideonTrash_HiRes_Final.pdf
A learning guide on marine debris.

https://www.salmon-trout.org/2018/08/31/plastic-rivers/
A perspective on rivers from Salmon and Trout Scotland.

https://www.marinelittersolutions.com/about-us/countries/united-states/
Potentially workable solutions for the oceans.

http://rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/364/1526/2027
Transport and release of chemicals from plastics to the environment and to wildlife.

https://library.wur.nl/WebQuery/wurpubs/fulltext/174619
Marine Strategy Framework Directive Task Group 10 Report Marine litter, April 2010.

https://www.plasticseurope.org/application/files/3715/1689/8308/2015plastics_the_facts_
14122015.pdf
Plastics Association data.

https://oceanconservancy.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/International-Coastal-
Cleanup_2017-Report.pdf
International plastic clean up data.

http://web.unep.org/unepmap/mediterranean-action-plan-barcelona-convention-
convention-protection-marine-environment-and-0
UN Mediterranean Action Plan.

39
 Review of Current Knowledge

References / Bibliography
Aliani, S., Griffa, A. and Molcard, A. (2003) Floating debris in the Ligurian Sea, north-
western Mediterranean. Marine Pollution Bulletin, Vol. 46, Issue 9, pp. 1142-1149.

Andrady, A.L. (2011) Microplastics in the marine environment. Marine Pollution

Bulletin 62, pp.1596–1605.

Barnes, D.K.A., Galgani, F., Thompson, R.C. and Barlaz, M. (2009) Accumulation
and fragmentation of plastic debris in global environments. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B.,
DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2008.0205

Browne M.A., Galloway T.S. and Thompson R.C. (2010) Spatial patterns of plastic
debris along estuarine shorelines. Environ Sci Technol. 2010 May 1;44(9):3404-9.
DOI: 10.1021/es903784e.

Cheshire, A.C., Adler, E., Barbière, J., Cohen, Y., Evans, S., Jarayabhand, S., Jeftic,
L., Jung, R.T., Kinsey, S., Kusui, E.T., Lavine, I., Manyara, P., Oosterbaan, L.,
Pereira, M.A., Sheavly, S., Tkalin, A., Varadarajan, S., Wenneker, B. and
Westphalen, G. (2009) Guidelines on survey and monitoring of marine litter. UNEP
Regional Seas Reports and Studies, No. 186; IOC, Technical Series No. 83: xii + 120 pp.

Doyle, M.J., Watson, W., Bowlin, N.M. and Sheavly, S.B. (2011) Plastic particles in
coastal pelagic ecosystems of the northeast Pacific ocean. Marine Environmental
Research, Volume 71, Issue 1, February 2011, pp. 41-52.

Foundation for Water Research (2017) Microplastics in the freshwater environment.

FR/R0027, October 2017.

Galgani, F., Fleet, D., van Franeker, J.A., Katsanevakis, S., Maes, T., Mouat, J.,
Oosterbaan, L., Poitou, I., Hanke, G., Thompson, R., Amato, E., Birkun, A. and
Janssen, C. (2010) Marine Strategy Framework directive - Task Group 10 Marine litter.
Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities.

GESAMP (2015). Sources, fate and effects of microplastics in the marine environment:
a global assessment. (Kershaw, P.J., ed.) (IMO/FAO/UNESCO-
IOC/UNIDO/WMO/IAEA/UN/UNEP/UNDP Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific
Aspects of Marine Environmental Protection). Rep. Stud. GESAMP No. 90, 96 p.

GESAMP (2016) Sources, fate and effects of microplastics in the marine environment:
Part 2 of a global assessment. (Kershaw, P.J. and Rochman, C.M., eds.)
(IMO/FAO/UNESCO-IOC/UNIDO/WMO/IAEA/UN/ UNEP/UNDP Joint Group of
Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Environmental Protection).
Rep. Stud. GESAMP No. 93, 220 p.

40
 Review of Current Knowledge

Jambeck, J.R., Geyer, R., Wilcox, C., Siegler, T.R., Perryman, M., Andrady, A.,
Narayan, R. and Law, K.L. (2015) Plastic waste inputs from land into the ocean.
Science, Vol. 347, Issue 6223, pp. 768-771. DOI: 10.1126/science.1260352

KIMO (2008) Fishing for Litter Scotland Final Report 2005-2008. Kommunenes
Internasjonale Miljøorganisasjon (KIMO).

Kutz, M. ed. (2002) Handbook of materials selection. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Law, K.L (2017) Plastics in the marine environment. Annual Review of Marine Science,
Vol. 9:1, pp. 205-229.

Law, K.L., Morét-Ferguson, S., Maximenko, N.A., Proskurowski, G., Peacock, E.E.,
Hafner, J. and Reddy, C.M. (2010) Plastic accumulation in the North Atlantic
subtropical gyre. Science, Vol. 329, Issue 5996, pp. 1185-1188.
DOI: 10.1126/science.1192321

Morét-Ferguson, S., Law, K.L., Proskurowski, G., Murphy, E.K., Peacock, E.E. and
Reddy, C.M. (2010) The size, mass, and composition of plastic debris in the western
North Atlantic ocean. Marine Pollution Bulletin, Volume 60, Issue 10, pp. 1873-1878.

Nelms, S.E., Coombes, C., Foster, L.C., Galloway, T.C., Godley, B.J., Lindeque,
P.K. and Witt, M. J. (2017) Marine anthropogenic litter on British beaches: A 10-year
nationwide assessment using citizen science data. Science of the Total Environment,
Volume 579, pp. 1399-1409.

Oehlmann, J., Schulte-Oehlmann, U., Kloas, W., Jagnytsch, O., Lutz, I., Kusk, K.O.,
Wollenberger, L., Santos, E.M., Paull, G.C., Van Look, K.J.W. and Tyler, C.R.
(2009) A critical analysis of the biological impacts of plasticizers on wildlife. Phil.
Trans. R. Soc. B 2009 Jul 27;364(1526):2047-62. DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2008.0242

Ogunola, O.S. and Palanisami, T. (2016) Microplastics in the marine environment:

current status, assessment methodologies, impacts and solutions. J Pollut Eff Cont 4:161.
DOI:10.4172/2375-4397.1000161

Pichel, W.G, Churnside, J.H., Veenstra, T.S., Foley, D.G., Friedman, K.S.,
Brainard, R.E., Nicoll, J.B., Zheng, Q. and Clemente-Colón, P. (2007) Marine debris
collects within the North Pacific Subtropical Convergence Zone. Mar Pollut Bull.,
54(8):1207-11. Epub 2007 Jun 12.

Poortinga, W., Sautkina, E., Thomas, G.O. and Wolstenholme, E. (2016) The English
plastic bag charge: Changes in attitudes and behaviour. Cardiff: Welsh School of
Architecture/School of Psychology, Cardiff University.

41
 Review of Current Knowledge

Poortinga, W., Whitmarsh, L. and Suffolk, C. (2013) The introduction of a single-use

carrier bag charge in Wales: attitude change and behavioural spillover effects. Journal of
Environmental Psychology, 36, 240-247.

Ryan, P.G. (2015) A brief history of marine litter research. In: M. Bergmann,
L. Gutow and M. Klages (eds.) Marine anthropogenic litter. Cham: Springer

Ryan, P.G., Moore, C.J., van Franeker, J.A. and Moloney, C.L. (2009) Monitoring
the abundance of plastic debris in the marine environment. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B, 2009
364(1526):1999-2012. DOI:10.1098/rstb.2008.0207

Schmidt, C., Krauth, T., and Wagner, S. (2017) Export of plastic debris by rivers into
the sea. Environmental Science & Technology, 51 (21), 12246-12253.
DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.7b02368

Teuten, E.L., Saquing, J.M., Knappe, D.R., Barlaz, M.A., Jonsson, S., Björn, A.,
Rowland, S.J., Thompson, R.C., Galloway, T.S., Yamashita, R, Ochi, D., Watanuki,
Y., Moore, C., Viet, P.H., Tana, T.S., Prudente, M., Boonyatumanond, R., Zakaria,
M.P., Akkhavong, K., Ogata, Y., Hirai, H., Iwasa, S., Mizukawa, K., Hagino, Y.,
Imamura, A., Saha, M. and Takada, H. (2009) Transport and release of chemicals
from plastics to the environment and to wildlife. Philos Trans R Soc B, 2009
364(1526):2027-45. DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2008.0284.

van Sebille, E, England, M.H. and Froyland, G. (2012) Origin, dynamics and evolution
of ocean garbage patches from observed surface drifters. Environmental Research
Letters, Volume 7, Number 4.

Wagner, M., Scherer, C., Alvarez-Muñoz, D., Brennholt, N., Bourrain, X.,
Buchinger, S., Fries, E., Grosbois, C., Klasmeier, J., Marti, T., Rodriguez-Mozaz, S.,
Urbatzka, R., Vethaak, A.D., Winther-Nielsen, M. and Reifferscheid, G. (2014)
Microplastics in freshwater ecosystems: what we know and what we need to know.
Environmental Sciences Europe, 2014 26:12. DOI: 10.1186/s12302-014-0012-7

Werner, S., Budziak, A., van Franeker, J., Galgani, F., Hanke, G., Maes, T.,
Matiddi, M., Nilsson, P., Oosterbaan, L., Priestland, E., Thompson, R., Veiga, J. and
Vlachogianni, T. (2016) Harm caused by marine litter. MSFD GES TG Marine Litter –
Thematic Report. JRC Technical Report. Luxembourg: European Union.

WRAP (2014) UK Voluntary Carrier Bag Agreement - 2014 Data. Governments,

Retailers and the BRC. [ http://www.wrap.org.uk/category/subject/carrier-bags ]

WRAP (2018) Polymer types. www.wwrap.org.uk/cotent/types-plastic

42