Plastics debris characteristics in Cikapundung River

Abstract

River plays the important role for transporting plastics from land to the ocean. Cikapundung river is one of tributary rivers which contributes significantly to Citarum River. The Cikapundung river transports the riverine plastic debris from the area of Bandung City and Bandung District to Citarum River that finally flows to the North Java Sea through its estuary at Muara Gembong-Bekasi. The aim of the study is to monitor plastic debris characteristic of in Cikapundung. It is important to understand the characteristic of plastic debris from the settlement area which potentially contaminates the sea. Monitoring was conducted in April to June 2021 by using net sampler 2x1x3 meters. The sampler was set at two transversal sites across the river in 15-30 minutes each. The observations were conducted three times (morning, noon, and afternoon) of each sampling day. Collected plastics were estimated the weight and the volume, and were separated, enumerated and classified afterwards. The top three common plastic types both in weight and number founded in Cikapundung river including plastic bags, clear plastic bags and sachet. The majority of commonly encountered plastics were clear plastic bags, plastic with aluminum, sachets (plastic packing), plastic bags, and plastic cups. It reflects the dominance of domestic source wastes rather than industrial plastic debris.