The life of a plastic butter tub in riverine environments. (15th October 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Delorme, Astrid E.; Koumba, Gaelle B.; Roussel, Erwan; Delor-Jestin, Florence; Peiry, Jean-Luc; Voldoire, Olivier; Garreau, Alexandre; Askanian, Haroutioun; Verney, Vincent
• Is Part Of: Environmental pollution. Volume 287(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-10-15
• Subjects: Polymers -- Allier river -- Storage -- Riparian vegetation -- Degradation; Pollution -- Periodicals; Pollution -- Environmental aspects -- Periodicals; Environmental Pollution -- Periodicals; Pollution -- Périodiques; Pollution -- Aspect de l'environnement -- Périodiques; Pollution -- Effets physiologiques -- Périodiques; Pollution; Pollution -- Environmental aspects; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 363.73
• DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2021.117656
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0269-7491

Abstract

Abstract: Plastic pollution in the world's ocean is one of the major environmental challenges that affects the society today, due to their persistence at sea, adverse consequences to marine life and being potentially harmful to human health. Rivers are now widely recognized as being the major input source of land-based plastic waste into the seas. Despite their key role in plastic transportation, riverine plastic pollution research is still in its infancy and plastic sources, hot-spots and degradation processes in riverine systems are to date poorly understood. In this contribution, we introduce a novel concept of following the aging of polypropylene based post-consumer goods placed in known trapping and mobility zones of macroplastics on a fluvial point bar, which was determined through repeated field surveys of macroplastic densities on this bar. As a proof-of-concept, we followed the degradation of 5 identical plastic butter tubs in 5 different locations on a riverbank and significant differences in the aging of the tubs were observed. The degree of aging of the tubs can to some extent be correlated to their proximity to the main river channel, exposure to natural conditions, such as solar radiation, and its storage time on land. Graphical abstract: Image 1 Highlights: Novel concept of monitoring aging of plastic waste in riverine systems is proposed. Macroplastic storage capacity depends on distance from river and riparian structure. Aging of plastic is measured by following changes in polymer properties. Unusual aging behavior of polypropylene based plastic is observed. Degradation rate of plastic depends on location of the waste in riverine sink.