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Debris from plastic products in the beaches around Northern Ambon Island
Summary
This study measured plastic debris density across different size categories in coastal areas of northern Ambon Island, Indonesia, finding all size classes present. The research documents the extent of plastic contamination on Indonesian coasts and provides data for waste management planning.
Abstract The exponential rise in plastic usage without adequate waste management has a detrimental effect on the ecosystem. This study estimated the density of plastic waste encountered, including: macroplastic (>25 mm); mesoplastic (5-25 mm) and microplastic (1-5 mm) in the coastal environments of northern Ambon Island. The samples were collected in April of 2018. Two quadrats were used for the sampling. On two beaches in northern Ambon Island, the average amount of marine plastic debris was 0.492 item.m −2 for macroplastic (>25 mm), 10.8 item.m −2 for mesoplastic (5-25 mm), and 29.8 item.m −2 for microplastic (1-5 mm). The dominance of plastic-type for macroplastics was a film that comes from food/beverage packaging and single-use plastic bags. Both coastlines were rated as moderate according by the the Clean Coast Index (CCI) evaluation for macroplastic, implying that a few pieces of trash can be spotted. We recommend more innovative waste management and implementing an effective pollution law system in Ambon Island. A routine beach clean-up activity at the lowest government level would be an excellent campaign to protect the coastal area.