Marine microplastic pollution in Peninsular Malaysia: A meta-analysis

Abstract

Marine microplastic pollution has recently become a serious environmental issue in Peninsular Malaysia. The overall overview of these marine microplastics in both western (Strait of Malacca) and eastern coastal waters (South China Sea) of the peninsula remains obscure due to the restricted spatio-temporal coverage of previous relevant studies within those areas. This study presents the analyses of most recent spatial distribution of marine microplastics in both coastal waters of Peninsular Malaysia in terms of their abundance, shape, color, size, polymer type, and pollution load index (PLI) by implementing meta-analysis. Overall, varying distribution of marine microplastics across both coastal waters of the peninsula was revealed. Mean marine microplastic abundance and PLI in the western coastal waters (41.592 particles/L; PLI = 997.80) were higher than the eastern counterpart (0.715 particles/L; PLI = 12.91), which corresponds to higher marine microplastic pollution induced by intensive anthropogenic activities in several high-developed states within the peninsula. Fragment-shaped (38.62 %) and film-shaped microplastics (37.46 %) were predominant in western coastal waters, whereas it was fiber-shaped microplastics (84.25 %) in the eastern counterpart. In terms of color, size, and polymer type distributions, transparent-, black-, and white-colored microplastics; microplastics with sizes of 500–1000 μm; and polyethylene- and polypropylene-based microplastics were the most prevalent in both coastal waters. The sources and transportation of marine microplastics in both coastal waters are mainly driven by a complex combination of dynamic forces, geographical conditions, microplastic properties, food chain and anthropogenic activities. Stringent implementation of plastic waste management policies is thus vital to address the marine microplastic pollution in Peninsular Malaysia.