We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
Microplastic pollution in the coastal water of Jakarta Bay, Indonesia
Summary
This study investigated microplastic pollution in Jakarta Bay coastal waters during the COVID-19 pandemic period, when single-use plastic use increased. Microplastics were detected at all three sampling sites, with fibers and fragments dominant, highlighting the bay as a significant sink for plastics from 13 inflowing rivers.
The increased usage of plastic for personal protective equipment (PPE), single-use plastic grocery bags, and food packaging during the COVID-19 pandemic raised concerns on microplastic pollution. This study aimed to investigate the shape, abundance, and type of microplastics in the seawater of Jakarta Bay where is most likely to be polluted by anthropogenic activities as well as being the endpoint of 13 river systems. The seawater from Tanjung Priok, Ancol Beach, and Sunda Kelapa Port, were collected and extracted using the density separation method. The microplastics were counted and categorized under a microscope and polymer of microplastics were identified using FTIR. The differences in microplastic abundance in three different stations were determined using one-way ANOVA. The results show that the Sunda Kelapa Port (2577.78 214.30 particle/m3) had the highest abundance of microplastic, which was significantly different (p<0.05) from Tanjung Priok (2022.22 203.67 particle/m3) and Ancol Beach (1822.22 101.83 particle/m3). The microplastic shapes in the Sunda Kelapa Port were dominated by fragments (36.2%), meanwhile, Tanjung Priok and Ancol Beach were dominated by fibers, comprising 37.34% and 35.44%, respectively. The results of the FTIR spectroscopy show that the most common types of microplastic polymers are Polypropylene, Polyethylene, Polystyrene, and Polyamide.