Tracing the source of marine debris on the beaches of northern New South Wales, Australia: The Bottles on Beaches program. (January 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Smith, Stephen D.A.; Banister, Kelsey; Fraser, Nicola; Edgar, Robert J.
• Is Part Of: Marine pollution bulletin. Volume 126(2018)
• Page Start: 304
• Page End: 307
• Publication Date: 2018-01
• Subjects: Citizen science -- Plastics -- MARPOL -- Remote beaches -- Shipping; Marine pollution -- Periodicals; Marine Biology -- Periodicals; Water Pollution -- Periodicals; Mer -- Pollution -- Périodiques; Publications périodiques; Pollution des mers; Lutte antipollution; Electronic journals; 363.7394
• DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.11.022
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0025-326X

Abstract

Abstract: Identifying the source of marine plastic pollution accumulating on ocean beaches is often difficult as unidentifiable fragments of plastic usually predominate. In this study, we surveyed plastic bottles as a relatively identifiable subset of plastics on 30 km of beach along a 200-km section of the north coast of New South Wales, Australia. Source and product type (contents) were determined using barcodes, inscriptions/embossing, or bottle shape and characteristics. Country of origin and product type could be determined for two-thirds of the 694 bottles found. Just over half (51%) of these were of domestic origin with the remainder dominated by bottles from China (24%) and south-east Asian countries (21%). As most of the foreign bottles lacked marine growth, and are unavailable for purchase in the region, passing ships are hypothesised as the primary source. Highlights: Plastic bottles were collected from beaches on the NSW north coast. Sources and product types (contents) were subsequently determined. 49% were from foreign sources but few possessed marine growth. Merchant shipping is therefore the most likely source of foreign bottles.