Types Of Debris Research Articles

The spatial and temporal changes of beach litter on Istanbul (Turkey) beaches as measured by the clean-coast index

Possible access routes of macro and mesoplastics, acting as the main sources of pollution in the coastal ecosystem, are examined as a case study on four beaches along the Istanbul coast. A total number of 3787 items belonging to 12 categories of debris types were collected as follows: macroplastics 47.8%; mesoplastics 9.2%; and others 43.0% such as paper pieces, glass pieces and metal beverage cans.Clean-coast and carbonyl indexes were also used to identify the level of cleanliness of the sampling sites. The clean-coast index revealed that all of the sample sites were categorized as extremely dirty. Moreover, carbonyl index results indicate that 35.7% of the samples were at a high oxidation level indicating that some of the particles relatively spend more time on beaches. The litter concentration and surface oxidation results were addressing issues that should be taken into consideration to improve litter management strategies of the beaches.

Determination of optimal concentration of vitamin E in polyethylene liners for producing minimal biological response to prosthetic wear debris.

The introduction of vitamin E-blended ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (VE-UHMWPE) for use in prosthetic components of hip implants has resulted in the production of implants that have excellent mechanical properties and substantially less adverse cellular responses. Given the importance of a biological response to wear in the survival of a prosthesis, we generated wear debris from UHMWPE that had been prepared with different concentrations of vitamin E of 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, and 1% and evaluated their biological reaction in vitro and in vivo. All types of VE-UHMWPE debris promoted a significantly lower expression of Tnf-α in murine peritoneal macrophages than that induced by conventional UHMWPE debris. However, levels of Tnf-α were not significantly different among the macrophages that were stimulated with VE-UHMWPE wear at the concentrations tested. The ability of wear debris to induce inflammatory osteolysis was assessed in a mouse calvarial osteolysis model. The expressions of Tnf-α, Il-6, and Rankl in granulomatous tissue formed around the wear debris were significantly reduced in mice that had been implanted with 0.3%VE-UHMWPE debris as compared to the corresponding values for mice that had been implanted with UHMWPE debris. Consistent with this finding, 0.3%VE-UHMWPE debris showed the lowest osteolytic activity, as evidenced by the reduced bone resorption area, the degree of infiltration of inflammatory cells and the TRAP staining area. Our results suggested that a 0.3% vitamin E concentration is the most appropriate concentration for use in prosthetic components with a reduced adverse cellular response for prolonging the life-span of the implant.

Wear debris recognition and quantification in ferrography images by instance segmentation

ABSTRACT Due to the diversity of debris morphologies and their states in the images, automatic wear debris analysis is still a challenge. Instance segmentation is an advanced technique of deep learning used for computer vision tasks. It can detect and delineate each distinct object of interest appearing in an image. An instance segmentation model using a modified mask branch with larger feature map and dilated convolution is proposed and applied to the ferrography images, so that five typical types of wear debris corresponding to different wear conditions can be located, segmented and recognized, even if they are small, blurred or overlapped. The mean average accuracy on the test set is about 88% when the intersection over union threshold is 0.5. This method realizes an end-to-end process of wear debris identification, which can eliminate the error caused by the intermediate steps. And it obtains accurate quantitative debris information, i.e., the type, quantity and size of debris, which provides a solution for intelligent wear debris analysis and automatic wear detection.

Quantity and type of coastal debris pollution in Taiwan: A rapid assessment with trained citizen scientists using a visual estimation method

Ongoing monitoring of the distribution and composition of coastal debris is a prerequisite for efficient management and cleanups. Therefore, we conducted a rapid assessment of coastal debris along the 1210 km coastline of Taiwan using a visual estimation method. Forty-nine citizen scientists were intensively trained to correctly identify the volume and types of debris. At 121 sampling locations randomly placed along Taiwan's coastline, the citizen scientists recorded the pollution level and the three most abundant debris types within a 100-m transect during four surveys in 2018–2019. Averaging over the four surveys, the mean amount of coastal debris was estimated to be 406.6 kg/km, and the three most abundant debris types were plastic bottles, foamed plastics, and fishing nets and ropes. Using a statistical test which avoids spatial pseudoreplication, we showed that north-facing coastlines had significantly higher pollution levels than the other coastlines, which we suggest is deposited there during strong winter winds. We also showed that fishery-related debris was a much more important part of coastal debris when the volume of it was determined instead of just the number of items. Mean pollution levels were further associated with wind speed, coastline type, and the distance to presumed pollution sources. Our results compare well with similar surveys conducted in Japan and South Korea. In each country, the debris was highly aggregated, which means it was concentrated in a few highly polluted localities. Therefore, the visual estimation method can effectively guide cleanup efforts to the most polluted areas and also reliably generate long-term monitoring data.

What type of plastic do sea turtles in Korean waters mainly ingest? Quantity, shape, color, size, polymer composition, and original usage

Globally, sea turtles are at high risk of ingesting plastic. However, research on plastic ingestion by sea turtles in East Asia is scant, and no quantitative or qualitative investigation has been conducted in Korean waters. This study examined the plastic ingestion of sea turtles stranded, floating, or incidentally captured in Korean waters between 2012 and 2018. The quantity, shape, color, size, polymer type, and original usage of plastic debris (>1 mm) ingested by sea turtles were analyzed after being sorted from the gastrointestinal tracts of 34 turtles (21 loggerheads (Caretta caretta), 9 green turtles (Chelonia mydas), 2 leatherbacks (Dermochelys coriacea), and 2 olive ridleys (Lepidochelys olivacea)). The ingestion frequencies of greens, loggerheads, olive ridleys, and leatherbacks were 100%, 81%, 50%, and 50%, respectively. The mean amount of plastic ingested was 108 ± 253 mg/kg (38 ± 61 n/ind.). The ingested debris tended to be films and fibers (>80%), light in color (white and transparent; 65%), and light polymers (polyethylene, polypropylene, polypropylene [poly (ethylene:propylene)], expanded polystyrene; 93%). The original uses were identified for 187 pieces; single-use plastics (e.g., plastic bag and packaging) and fishing and aquaculture items (e.g., twine and net) were found to dominate. Green turtles (264 ± 433 mg/kg) ingested significantly higher amounts of plastic than loggerheads (72.8 ± 156 mg/kg). Green turtles ingested mostly fibers (51%), such as rope, twine, and net, while loggerheads ingested largely films (61%), such as plastic bags and packaging. Interspecies differences in quantities and shapes of ingested debris may be related to their distinct feeding habits and geographical range of movement. The present study demonstrates that sea turtles foraging in Korean waters are considerably affected by marine plastic debris, and indicates that proper waste management of single-use plastics and fishing gears is urgently needed to mitigate the damage that plastic debris causes to marine wildlife.

Target Classification of Marine Debris Using Deep Learning

Marine Debris is human-created waste dumped into the sea or ocean. It pollutes the aquatic environment and hence very dangerous for ocean species. Removal of marine debris from ocean is necessary to eliminate pollution and to secure aquatic life. A robust and automatic system is essential that detects unnecessary litter of plastic and other garbage at real-time. In this study, we have proposed deep learning based architecture for the detection and classification of marine debris. Histogram Equalization technique combined with Median Filter is used to enhance the contrast of images and to remove noise. Experiments are performed on challenging Forward Looking Sonar Image (FLS) Marine Debris Dataset. This dataset includes ten different types of Debris. The proposed system not only detect the Debris, but also classify it into ten classes. To overcome the challenge of data scarcity, Faster-RCNN with transfer learning of ResNet-50 architecture is used. Faster-RCNN is one of the popular object detection architecture that uses Regional Proposal Network (RPN) and detector at the same time. The proposed methodology significantly improves the state-of-the-art results. Result assessment of our proposed technique achieved recall of (96%) and Mean Overlap bounding boxes of (3.78). Visual and qualitative assessment of proposed methodology shows the effectiveness of presented technique.

Issues of Space Debris and Sustainable Development Practices

Meteors are probably better known as "shooting stars". They are small pieces of space debris and dust, or fragments from comets. They variety in scope from a grain of sand to around the size of a cricket ball. After they hit the Earth's atmosphere they heat up and glow sendoff a streak crossway the sky. Space junk is a major problem. Some of it is actual large, such as burntout skyrocket phases, dead ship and a few tools lost during spacewalks. However, most of it is much smaller. Collisions with large smithereens of junk can incapacitate or even destroy a spacelab. To study the various types of debris on earth and to study the quantity of space debris and removal methods. The real issue of space debris proliferation is to overtake a difficult and complex international legislation but also to create a reaction of the general opinion. Once everybody will be aware of the danger of space debris, governments and companies will be compelled to take proactive steps for cleaning or safe disposal of space debris.

Study of Litter on Delaware Roadways

Roadside litter has been a persistent issue in Delaware. In addition to all the efforts from volunteer programs, the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) spends nearly $2 million annually for removing and disposing of roadside litter and illegal dumping. The increase in the number of people, vehicles, and products has led to an increase in certain types of litter on the roads. Additionally, the emergence of the global pandemic due to COVID-19 has drastically aggravated the problem, particularly, due to the enormous increase in the demand and use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and plastic products used for packaging and take-out foods. The existing publications that address the issue of roadside litter in Delaware are few in number and scattered. The goal of this study is to present concise yet comprehensive information about the extent of these issues and the current litter abatement efforts in Delaware and to introduce suggestions for mitigating this problem. For this purpose, a collection of relevant documents, including academic and non-academic literature, have been reviewed and summarized. The issue of roadside litter is a complex problem with numerous environmental, social, and economic impacts. Further, litter and other types of debris on the roads can pose serious safety hazards for road users. Although multiple positive steps have been taken recently to tackle this issue in Delaware, more comprehensive and effective strategies need to be established for boosting the current measures. Some major areas for improvement include, but are not limited to, enhancing education and public awareness programs, encouraging volunteer campaigns, establishing more effective law enforcement methods, and improving the disposal facilities.

A novel drill bit design for reducing bone-chip morphology in orthopaedic bone drilling

Bone drilling is necessary during orthopaedic surgery for internal fixation. The drilling through the bones is the same as the mechanical drilling that uses a surgical twisted drill bit. The design and geometry of drill-bit play a paramount role in producing bone debris of various shapes and sizes. These different bone chips are responsible for chip clogging and chip accumulation at drill sites, leading to a higher temperature, torque, and thrust force. This study compared three hollow drill bits with different diamond grit sizes with a conventional surgical twisted drill bit to observe the chip morphology. It was witnessed that the influence of diamond grit size plays a significant role in producing bone debris. Different sizes of bone chips were stimulated with various drill bits. Similar chip characteristics were observed in all types of bone debris with varying drill bits. The twisted drill bit produces thick spiral-shaped bone debris compared to the hollow drill bit. The fine diamond grits in the drill bit reduce the chip morphology of bone debris during bone drilling. Thus, the diamond-impregnated surgical tool is preferable to drilling burr than a surgical twisted drill bit for surgeons during orthopaedic surgery.

Coastal Marine Debris Detection and Density Mapping With Very High Resolution Satellite Imagery

Marine debris is a serious problem for marine ecosystems and related coastal activities. We carry out a study using <i>in-situ</i> debris clean-up data (collected by a local Japanese company) together with high spatial resolution satellite images to determine how well the satellite images can be used to estimate the amount and type of debris deposited on the beaches of the island in southern Japan. We use machine learning techniques to analyze the satellite images and find that Shannon&#x0027;s entropy computed from World-View 2 and 3 imagery from Maxar Corp. yields a useful detection and mapping of the coastal debris when compared with the <i>in-situ</i> clean-up data. We also assign a debris concentration to each satellite image pixel to visualize the distribution of the debris. The algorithm linking the satellite images to the ground truth clean-up data can now be used in areas where no ground truth data are available.

Sources, spatial distribution, and abundance of marine debris on Thondi coast, Palk Bay, Southeast coast of India

BackgroundThe Thondi coast is rich in valuable natural marine resources and socio-economically significant activities like agriculture, aquaculture, and fishing. The area receives an excess of untreated solid and liquid waste as a result of these activities. The study focuses on the abundance, distribution, and status of the Clean-Coast Index (CCI) of marine debris from the Thondi coast, Palk Bay, Southeast coast of India. This is the first research work focused on assessing the type and quantity of marine debris on the Thondi coast.ResultsA total of 1636 marine debris items/m2 and their 4.09 concentration of the items/m2 were determined in the marine debris: plastics (77.49%), cotton swabs (8.62%), cigarette butts (10.15%), and food containers (3.73%). From the result, the CCI had ranged between 4.25 (clean) and 20.4 (extremely dirty) with a mean of 8.92 (moderate) in the Thondi coast assessed.ConclusionThis study was conducted for the first time in this region. Finally, the high CCI value of 20.4 on the coast indicated that the marine debris pollution levels were high at the time of sampling in the middle part of the Thondi coast (most of the beaches are covered with plastic) due to land-based marine debris (62.45%), sea-originated marine debris (21.14%), and unknown sources (16.41%) of the items. Our findings served as a baseline for potential evaluations of the marine environment. Input prevention should be the goal of management efforts, including proper waste management, plastic recycling, and stringent penalties for illegal waste dumping.

Biomass and mortmass of woody vegetation in metal-contaminated areas (Southern Urals, Russia).

BackgroundSince the mid-2000s, long-term monitoring of various components of natural ecosystems under conditions of industrial pollution has been carried out in the Southern Urals. As a part of these monitoring programmes, the data on various components of biota in different biotopes, collected with different methods and in different time intervals, continue to be gathered. In addition, data collected through these monitoring programmes can also be used to study the local biodiversity of non-polluted areas.In 2012, in the vicinity of the Karabash Copper Smelter, a study of communities of small mammals was carried out, considering the heterogeneity of their habitats. Within the framework of this project, we presented a detailed description of the state of woody vegetation in the study area.New informationThe dataset (available from the GBIF network at https://www.gbif.org/dataset/61384edd-2d0a-437b-8cf0-ff4d2dfcc0da) includes the results of an assessment of the woody vegetation biomass at seven habitats (pine, birch and floodplain forests, reed swamp, sparse birch stand, marshy meadow and dump of household waste) of areas with different levels of industrial pollution in the vicinities of the Karabash, the Southern Urals. Karabash Copper Smelter (KCS) is one of Russia’s most significant point polluters; the main components of its emissions are heavy metals, dust and sulphur dioxide. Parameters of woody vegetation (diameter at breast height, diameter at root collar level and biomass) were estimated for seven forest elements (forest stand, subcanopy (undergrowth and underwood), half-dead tree of a forest stand and four types of coarse woody debris (downed bole, fragment of downed bole, standing dead tree and stump)) at 41 sampling plots (20 at unpolluted and 21 at polluted areas) and 165 subplots (81 and 84, respectively). The dataset includes 411 sampling events (estimation events of the forest elements at sampling plots and subplots), corresponding to 5786 occurrences (estimations of the woody vegetation components) observed during July 2012. For most woody vegetation components (72%), an estimate of the above-ground phytomass is given. For each sampling event, information on the presence or absence of woody vegetation species at the considered habitats is provided (a total of 1479 occurrences with status "absent"). The dataset can be used for environmental monitoring, sustainable forest management, modelling forest productivity considering global changes, studying the structure and biodiversity of forest cover and assessing forests’ carbon-sequestration capacity. In addition, the dataset provides information about different forest ecosystems under the influence of strong industrial pollution.

A Review on the Impact of Plastic Debris on Marine Environment

Marine plastic debris is increasing day by day resulting negative impacts on the marine biodiversity. Therefore, this review article summarizes the types of marine debris, sources of marine debris, impacts of marine plastics, and global initiatives for reducing plastic pollution in the marine environment. Both macro and micro plastics are coming from two sources including land (e.g. home, industry) and ocean (e.g. fishing). Plastics pose a great threat to organisms in the marine environment, for example, through ingestion or entanglement in the plastic. For addressing the issue of plastic pollution in the marine environment governments have formulated several laws and legislation and taken different approaches as well.

Can a nanofluid enhance the critical heat flux if the recirculating coolant contains debris?

In-vessel corium retention (IVR) during external reactor vessel cooling (ERVC) is a key severe accident management strategy adopted in advanced nuclear power plants. The injection of nanofluids has been regarded as a means of enhancing CHF when using the IVR-ERVC strategy to safeguard high-power nuclear reactors. However, a critical practical concern is that various types of debris flowing from the contaminant sump during operation of an ERVC system might degrade CHF enhancement by nanofluids. Our objective here was to experimentally assess the viability of nanofluid use to enhance CHF in practical ERVC contexts (e.g., when fluids contain various types of debris). The types and characteristics of debris expected during IVR-ERVC were examined. We performed pool boiling CHF experiments using nanofluids containing these types of debris. Notably, we found that debris did not cause any degradation of the CHF enhancement characteristics of nanofluids. The nanoparticles are approximately 1000-fold smaller than the debris particles; the number of nanoparticles in the same volume fraction is 1 billion-fold greater. Nanofluids increase CHF via porous deposition of nanosized particles on the boiling surface; this is not hindered by extremely large debris particles.

A Scaled Physical Model Study of Culvert Blockage Exploring Complex Relationships Between Influential Factors

ABSTRACT Blockage of cross-drainage hydraulic structures (e.g., bridges, culverts) is reported as an exacerbating factor during flash flooding in Wollongong and Newcastle. Lack of data from flooding events and the fragmentary nature of post-flood data are the factors hindering research in studying the impact of blockage on the performance of hydraulic structures. This paper proposes lab-scale simulations using scaled physical models of culverts to study the behaviour and effects of urban and vegetative debris. The first investigation studies the interaction between specific debris types with culvert inlet geometries and their impact on the hydraulic blockage. In the second investigation, a flood hydrograph is simulated in the laboratory to study complex relationships between blockage-related influential factors and to relate the observed visual blockage and hydraulic blockage. From the results of first investigation, urban debris was reported the main contributor in increasing the hydraulic blockage at structures. Furthermore, the degree of hydraulic blockage was found sensitive to the orientation of the debris. Results from the second investigation reported several insights regarding the complex relationships between blockage-related influential factors. The temporally variable nature of blockage was observed from the experiments that suggested revising the existing constant blockage based Australian Rainfall and Runoff (ARR) guidelines.

Identification of Marine Debris and Its Distribution Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) on the Cirebon Coastal Area, Indonesia

Marine debris can be a significant problem when it enters the ocean. One of the areas, which has a marine debris problem is Cirebon Coast. Such a problem occurs due to the high human population and activities in this particular coastal area. An effective cleaning method is required to prevent this problem. However, to determine the cleaning method, comprehensive information about the debris condition is required. Therefore, this study aims to identify the dominant types of marine debris and analyze the effect of tides on the characteristics and distribution of debris on the Cirebon Coast. This study carried out marine debris identification by orthophoto obtained from a DJI Phantom 4 Pro Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)/drone. The dominant types of marine debris on the Cirebon Coast are plastic and styrofoam. Based on the aerial imagery validation results, plastic and styrofoam larger than Ground Sample Distance (GSD) are easily detected. Visually, debris in Karang Anom more than in Rawa Urip. The change in tidal height can affect debris not visible on the orthophoto at the maximum water level. In addition, the tides can also move marine debris varying from 10 to 50 cm from its previous position. The debris area at Rawa Urip Beach when slack before flood tide (55.53 m2) is larger than the area when slack before ebb tide (52.71 m2). The debris area at Karang Anom Beach at low tide (129.89 m2) is larger than when slack before ebb tide (75.79 m2). This study revelaed that the factors affecting debris area on the Cirebon Coast comprise tidal height, seawater visibility, and the beach structure (slope and coast components).

An Assessment of the Effectiveness of Fema's Pilot Program for Debris Removal After Hurricanes

Hurricane debris poses significant challenges in the post-disaster environment and can result in a variety of debris types. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has put forth efforts to address these challenges through the development of their Pilot Program for Debris Removal that provides guidance and incentives for United States communities to develop FEMA-approved debris management plans. While the literature supports the need for pre-event debris management planning, there appears to be a lack of research that evaluates the effectiveness of FEMA-approved debris management plans in the post-disaster environment. The purpose of this research is therefore to assess the effectiveness of plans developed under the guidance of FEMA's Pilot Program in preparing communities for post-hurricane debris management. Counties that received major disaster declarations for hurricanes between 2011 and 2019 were surveyed to assess their participation in the Pilot Program. The results suggest that the Pilot Program is overall an effective means for preparing communities for post-hurricane debris management.

Effects of nano-Al2O3 and PTFE fillers on tribological property of basalt fabric-reinforced epoxy composites

ABSTRACT Effects of nano-Al2O3 and PTFE fillers on tribological behaviour of basalt fabric reinforced epoxy composite (BFRC) produced with a combination of molding and mixing method were studied by Taguchi L9 design. Microstructures and worn surfaces of composites were investigated by scanning electron microscopy. Regression equations were also developed for predicting wear and coefficient of friction. The results indicated that specific wear rate increased with increasing load and decreasing speed, but friction coefficient decreased with increasing speed, PTFE addition and medium load. In addition, wear rate of nano-PTFE was lower than that of nano-Al2O3 because of its microstructure. PTFE decreased the friction about 17%. Load was effective on the wear rate while speed was dominant on the friction. Moreover, multiple fiber fractures and large numbers of debris were dominated for BFRC while fiber debondings, fiber removals and debris agglomerations were effective for Al2O3, but fiber fractures and flake types of debris were responsible for PTFE.

Effects of Fire Severity and Woody Debris on Tree Regeneration for Exploratory Well Pads in Jack Pine (Pinus banksiana) Forests

Restoring anthropogenic footprints to pre-disturbance conditions or minimizing their long-term impacts is an important goal in conservation. Many footprints, particularly if left alone, have wide-ranging effects on biodiversity. In Canada, energy exploration footprints result in forest dissection and fragmentation contributing to declines in woodland caribou. Developing cost effective strategies to restore forests and thus conserving the woodland caribou habitat is a conservation priority. In this study, we compared the effects of wildfire and local variation in the amount of residual woody debris on natural regeneration in jack pine on exploratory well pads in Alberta’s boreal forest. Specifically, we investigated how footprint size, fire severity (overstory tree mortality), ground cover of fine and coarse woody debris, and adjacent stand characteristics (i.e., height, age, and cover), affected tree regeneration densities and height using negative binomial count and linear models (Gaussian), respectively. Regeneration density was 30% higher on exploratory well pads than adjacent forests, increased linearly with fire severity on the exploratory well pads (2.2% per 1% increase in fire severity), but non-linearly in adjacent forests (peaking at 51,000 stems/ha at 72% fire severity), and decreased with amount of woody debris on exploratory well pads (2.7% per 1% increase in woody debris cover). The height of regenerating trees on exploratory well pads decreased with fire severity (0.56 cm per 1% increase in fire severity) and was non-linearly related to coarse woody debris (peaking at 286 cm at 9.4% coarse woody debris cover). Heights of 3 and 5 m on exploratory well pads were predicted by 13- and 21-years post-fire, respectively. Our results demonstrate that wildfires can stimulate natural recovery of fire-adapted species, such as jack pine, on disturbances as large as exploratory well pads (500–1330 m2) and that the type and amount of woody debris affects these patterns.

Macroplastic Debris Transfer in Rivers: A Travel Distance Approach

Plastic accumulation in the marine environment is a major concern given the harmful effects and longevity of plastics at sea. Although rivers are likely to significantly contribute to the flux of plastic to marine systems, the behaviour of plastic debris in fluvial systems remains poorly understood and estimates of riverine plastic flux derived from field measurements and modelling efforts are highly uncertain. This paper presents a new probabilistic model of plastic transport in rivers which describes the main processes controlling plastic displacement and which predicts the statistical distribution of travel distances for individual items of buoyant macroplastic debris. Macroplastic transport is controlled by retention in temporary stores (or traps) created by vegetation, bank roughness elements and other obstacles. The behaviour of these traps is represented in the model via a series of Bernoulli trials conducted in a Monte Carlo simulation framework. The model was applied to a tracer experiment in a small 1.1 km river reach. Three replicates were used for calibration and three for validation. For each replicate, 90 closed air-filled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles were introduced at the upstream end of the reach and the location of each bottle was recorded after 24 h. Bottles were chosen as “model” macroplastic litter items given their high usage and littering rate. Travel distances were low. The average and maximum distances travelled over 24 h were 231 m and 1.1 km, respectively. They were also variable. The coefficient of variation of travel distances was 0.94. Spatial patterns were controlled by the location and characteristics of discrete traps. The model was able to describe the observed travel distance distributions reasonably well, suggesting that modelling plastic behaviour in longer reaches and even whole catchments using a stochastic travel distance approach is feasible. The approach has the potential to improve estimates of river plastic flux, although significant knowledge gaps remain (e.g., the rate and location of plastic supply to river systems, the transport behaviours of different types of plastic debris and trap effectiveness in different types of river system, season, and discharge).