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Abundance of plastic microbeads in Hong Kong coastal water
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Plastic microbeads from personal care products were detected in Hong Kong coastal waters via surface trawling, confirming that cosmetic microbeads are entering the marine environment. This supported the legislative push to ban microbeads in personal care products.
To address the rising concern over the use of plastic microbeads in personal care and cosmetic products, countries worldwide have started taking legislative actions to ban microbeads. Yet, the degree of contamination of coastal waters by plastic microbeads is rarely reported. Surface manta trawls were conducted to investigate the presence of microbeads in the southern coastal waters of Hong Kong. Considering only the size fraction of 0.3 to 1 mm, 60% of samples were found to contain microbeads. Microbeads accounted for 3.6% of the total microplastics collected and microbead abundance ranged from 0 to 380,129 pcs/km. The shapes, sizes, colours, and composition of microbeads found in our samples were similar to those from tested facial scrubs, suggesting that pelagic microbeads collected in this study very likely originated from the cosmetic products available locally. Microbeads represent a non-negligible part of the microplastics found in surface coastal waters.
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Microplastic pollution in the marine waters and sediments of Hong Kong
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Seasonal surveys of surface water and sediments across four coastal locations in Hong Kong found microplastics at all sites, with the highest concentrations in the most urbanized harbor areas. This first comprehensive study of Hong Kong coastal waters reveals that even heavily trafficked port environments accumulate large quantities of microplastic pollution.
Percentage of microbeads in pelagic microplastics within Japanese coastal waters
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Researchers collected neuston net samples from 26 stations in Japanese coastal waters and found that spherical microbeads smaller than 0.8 mm accounted for 9.7% of all microplastics at the stations where they were detected, suggesting a substantial contribution of personal care product microbeads to coastal microplastic pollution.
Exploration of microplastics from personal care and cosmetic products and its estimated emissions to marine environment: An evidence from Malaysia
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Microplastics including microbeads were quantified in personal care and cosmetic products sold in Malaysia, with scrubs and toothpastes as the top contributors, and estimated emissions to marine environments were calculated. The findings support the case for regulations banning plastic microbeads in cosmetics as a pollution prevention measure.
Microplastic Accumulation in Hong Kong’s Marine Sediment: Spatial Pattern and Potential Sources
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Researchers conducted a comprehensive survey of microplastics in marine sediments across Hong Kong's waters. They found microplastics at every sampling site, with fibers and fragments being the most common forms and polypropylene and polyethylene the dominant plastics. The spatial patterns suggest that coastal urbanization and water circulation are key factors driving where microplastics accumulate in sediments.
Personal Care and Cosmetic Products as a Potential Source of Environmental Contamination by Microplastics in a Densely Populated Asian City
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Researchers surveyed personal care and cosmetic products sold in a densely populated Asian city for microbeads and other microplastic ingredients, documenting the extent of microbead-containing products still on the market and estimating their potential contribution to municipal wastewater microplastic loads.
Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.