Lower amount of certain microplastics on Auckland's coast could be due to plastic bag ban

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2023-12-05 08:08

New Zealand

Photo by Angela Compagnone on Unsplash

Researchers analysed samples from coastal areas in Auckland, finding that microplastics are widespread. They found that in beach sediments and seawater, a kind of plastic often used in plastic bottles, food packaging, and polyester was the most abundant plastic polymer. Meanwhile, other kinds of plastics were predominant in the sediments around stormwater drains, indicating the potential link between urban runoff and microplastic pollution in marine ecosystems. The researchers also found that Auckland's coastal environment had a lower amount of polyethylene pollution compared to similar studies in other parts of the world, which they say may be due to New Zealand's 2019 ban on single-use plastic shopping bags.

Media release

From:

Attachments

Note: Not all attachments are visible to the general public. Research URLs will go live after the embargo ends.

Research Elsevier, Web page

Journal/
conference: Science of the Total Environment

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: University of Auckland, Eurofins Environment Testing Australia and New Zealand, Australia, Auckland Transport, Auckland

Funder: We acknowledge the University of Auckland for providing the doctoral scholarship to the lead author. We also acknowledge the funding from the Auckland Transport for analysis of some samples.

Media Contact/s

Contact details are only visible to registered journalists.