Abundance of Microplastics and Hazard to the Environment in Estuary Water in Pemalang, Central Java, Indonesia

Abstract Microplastics are plastic particles measuring ±5 mm. The accumulation of microplastics will be a hazard and threat to the environment because of its persistent nature and difficult to degrade. Human activities and pollutant sources greatly affect the function of microplastics. This study aims to determine the types and types of microplastics in the waters at 5 locations of the Pemalang River estuary. Water sampling represents different activities, namely ponds, tourist attractions, mangrove areas, fish auction sites and river estuaries. The total result found was 19.10 x 10 2 particles/m 3 . The types of microplastics found were fibres, fragments and films. The highest abundance of microplastics was found on Widuri Beach with a total of 5.45 x 10 2 particles/m 3 . The most common type of microplastic found in Pemalang waters is film. This is presumably because Widuri beach is a beach that is dense with tourist visits. Meanwhile, the types of microplastics in mangrove areas, ship port, fish market and fishponds have a range of values that are not much different, namely 2.33 − 4.53 x 10 2 particles/m 3 . This is presumably because waste is more easily trapped in the mangrove roots and accumulates more.