A Regional Difference Analysis of Microplastic Pollution in Global Freshwater Bodies Based on a Regression Model

Hanwen Chen,Hao Huang,Yinghuan Qin,Weiyi Xu

doi:10.3390/w12071889

Abstract

Based on statistical data of the average abundance of microplastics from 37 global freshwater locations up to November 2019, we classified the freshwater bodies according to developments in their local countries and geographic positions. We highlighted the differences and causes of microplastic pollution in the waters of both developed and developing countries and urban and rural areas. The results showed that microplastic pollution was highest in Asia. The pollution in developed countries was significantly lower than in developing countries. The differences in freshwater pollution between urban and rural areas mainly depended on the extent of human activity. The present study found the following phenomena by comprehensively using simple and multiple regression models and a Pearson correlation analysis to solve the impacts of the features, natural factors, and social and economic factors on the distribution of microplastic pollution. The density of microplastics was higher, which promoted the aggregation of microplastics in sediments. Pursuant to that, microplastic pollution was also influenced by the space-time pollution of movable surface sources, such as the soil and air. A population increase and the average gross domestic product (GDP) could also worsen microplastic pollution.

Highlights

With the continuous progress and development of society, plastics have permeated every major facet of human life and economy
Existing data on microplastic abundance and concentration were obtained for 37 freshwater bodies located in 12 countries spanning six continents (Table 1)
The data on the average abundance and composition of the microplastics in the waterbodies required for the study came from the relevant literature in major Chinese and English databases as of November 2019

Summary

Introduction

With the continuous progress and development of society, plastics have permeated every major facet of human life and economy. Large scale production and plastic waste have had great negative impacts on our environment [1]. The global production and widespread use of plastics led to an accumulation of 348 million tons in 2017. China produced 102.3 million tons of plastic materials, accounting for 29.4% of the world’s plastic production. As a result of this, China became the world’s largest producer and consumer of plastic materials [2]. In 2004, Thompson et al from the University of Plymouth published an article in Science that first posited that microplastics are small pieces and particles of plastic less than 5 mm in diameter [3]. Microplastics are divided according to their source: primary type and secondary type [4]. Scientific research proved that secondary microplastics have a stronger potential adsorption rate on organics and several heavy metals, like Pb and Hg, compared with primary microplastics

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Conclusion