Enhanced microplastic fragmentation along human built structures in an urban waterway

Abstract

Plastic pollution and microplastic (MP, 1 µm to 5 mm) generation are growing problems affecting the global community and a wide range of natural and disturbed environments. Urban and suburban waterways are directly impacted by plastic pollution due to their proximity to population centers and many different types single use plastic waste sources. In this study, plastic waste accumulation and fragmentation was investigated along the Cooper River in Camden County, NJ. Polymer composition was identified for individual plastic waste particles collected along the Cooper River using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometry. Multiple human-built structures (Wallworth Lake, Evans Pond and Hopkins Pond dams) along the Cooper River were found to accumulate different types of plastic waste. The accumulation of plastic waste along these structures resulted in the initial stages of plastic fragmentation and the identification of large MP particles (1 to 5 mm). Quantitative analysis revealed that fragmented polystyrene (PS) particles constituted 82.8% of the total plastic fragments identified, most of which were identified at the Wallworth Lake dam. Many other types of fragmented plastic litter, including polyethylene and polypropylene, were identified at the Wallworth Lake dam, as well. This research demonstrates that engineered structures within urban and suburban aquatic ecosystems serve as significant aggregators of plastic debris, thereby catalyzing its breakdown into microplastics. Considering the escalating ecological and human health ramifications of microplastic proliferation, the fragmentation of plastic waste in an urban and suburban waterway observed in this study can also result in potentially toxic smaller MP particles, and increased exposure to aquatic organisms and humans.