Plastic in the Thames: a river runs through it

David Morritt, Paris Stefanoudis, Dave Pearce, Oliver Crimmen, Paul Clark

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Although contamination of the marine ecosystems by plastics is becoming recognised as a serious pollution problem, there are few studies that demonstrate the contribution made by freshwater catchments. Over a three month period from September to December 2012, at seven localities in the upper Thames estuary, 8,490 submerged plastic items were intercepted in eel fyke nets anchored to the river bed. Whilst there were significant differences in the numbers of items at these locations, the majority were some type of plastic. Additionally in excess of 20% of the litter items were components of sanitary products. The most contaminated sites were in the vicinity of sewage treatment works. While floating litter is visible, this study also demonstrates that a large unseen volume of submerged plastic is flowing into the marine environment. It is therefore important that this sub-surface component is considered when assessing plastic pollution input into the sea.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)196–200
Number of pages5
JournalMarine Pollution Bulletin
Volume78
Issue number1-2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jan 2014

Keywords

  • Estuary; Fyke-nets; Plastics; River Thames; Sanitary Products; United Kingdom

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