Abstract
Plastic pollution in aquatic environments is an increasing global risk. In recent years, marine plastic pollution has been studied to a great extent, and it has been hypothesized that land-based plastics are its main source. Global modeling efforts have suggested that rivers in South East Asia are in fact the main contributors to plastic transport from land to the oceans. However, due to a lack of plastic transport observations, the origin and fate of riverine plastic waste is yet unclear. Here, we present results from a first assessment of riverine macroplastic emission from rivers and canals that run through a densely populated coastal urban city. Using a combination of field measurements, empirical relations and hydraulic modeling, we provide an estimate of total riverine plastic export originating from Jakarta, Indonesia, into the ocean. Furthermore, we provide insights in its composition, and variation in time and space. We found that most macroplastics in Jakarta consists of films and foils. We estimate that 2.1 × 103 tonnes of plastic waste, is transported from land to sea annually, equaling 3% of the total annual unsoundly disposed plastic waste in the Jakarta area.
Highlights
Marine plastic pollution is an emerging global risk (Wilcox et al 2015, Conchubhair et al 2019), threatening marine fauna (Derraik 2002, Thompson et al 2004) and ecosystems (Syakti et al 2017, Lasut et al 2018)
Marine plastic pollution has been studied to a great extent, and it has been hypothesized that land-based plastics are its main source
Using a combination of field measurements, empirical relations and hydraulic modeling, we provide an estimate of total riverine plastic export originating from Jakarta, Indonesia, into the ocean
Summary
Marine plastic pollution is an emerging global risk (Wilcox et al 2015, Conchubhair et al 2019), threatening marine fauna (Derraik 2002, Thompson et al 2004) and ecosystems (Syakti et al 2017, Lasut et al 2018). Tackling marine plastic pollution is a contemporary challenge in ocean governance (Haward 2018), especially given the uncertainties in the origin and fate of marine plastic. Land-based plastics are considered to be a main source of marine plastic pollution (Jambeck et al 2015), and are assumed to mainly be transported to the ocean through rivers (Lebreton et al 2017, Schmidt et al 2017). The origin and fate of land-based plastic waste remains understudied, but riverine plastic pollution is an emerging field.
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