Important research is currently being conducted in Monaco on the effect of microplastics on coral reefs. Meanwhile, the UN Environment Programme has launched a campaign to raise awareness of microplastics in personal care products.
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Each year, an estimated eight million tonnes of plastic ends up in the ocean, equivalent to a full garbage truck every minute dumped into the sea, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) said on Monday.
Plastics rarely biodegrade, but through different processes they do fragment into microplastics and nanoplastics, and these are detected in all marine environments worldwide. Not only that, microplastics are capable of absorbing organic contaminants, metals and pathogens from the environment. This means they are even more toxic than in their original state.
The most common items are cigarette butts, bags, and food and beverage containers. As a result, marine litter harms over 800 marine species, 15 of which are endangered. And plastic consumed by marine species enters the human food chain through fish consumption.
Most people associate marine plastic pollution with sights of plastic litter along coastlines or floating on the surface of the sea. But microplastics and microbeads pose a hidden challenge; they are out of sight, and therefore out of mind.
In early 2019, the Monaco Scientific Centre (MSC) and the International Centre for Coral Reefs for Palau (PICRC) started working on ways to reduce the risks associated with microplastic pollution on the marine environment.
The project was co-financed by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation and addresses a global health issue.
The targeted islands of the Republic of Palau are located in Micronesia, near the Philippines and Indonesia. Well aware of the ecological issues, these islands are pioneers in research against global warming and ocean acidification. They are also highly polluted, even in protected environments and remote locations.
Two researchers of the CSM, Eric Béraud and Vanessa Bednarz of the coral ecophysiology team, led by Dr. Christine Ferrier-Pagès, went to Palau in March 2019 where they collected around 100 plastic samples from the water, beach and coral sediment at seven different sites in Palau. The samples were analysed in detail at the CSM laboratory in Monaco.
Also on hand to analyse the results is Palau International Coral Reef Center (PICRC) researcher Dr. Evelyn Ikelau Otto. Initial results indicate that microplastics are present in all the samples taken from Palau, despite the “virgin” nature of these islands. During her time at the Monegasque laboratories, Dr. Ikelau Otto will not only finish the analysis of plastics collected in Palau, but also move on to the impact of plastics on the physiology of corals.
Ultimately, the results will be used to educate local communities in Palau on plastic pollution and develop management strategies to protect these valuable reefs. It will also be used across the globe to improve our understanding of the harmful mechanisms of Microplastics pollution on the health of coral reefs.
Meanwhile, it was announced on Monday that the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is running an awareness campaign on the harm caused by plastics in personal care products and shifts that can be made to reduce plastic footprints.
Many consumers are not aware just how much plastic there may be in the personal care items they use daily on their faces and bodies.
From the plastic in packaging to the microplastics hidden within the products, including beads or glitter, they are all designed to wash down the drain, travel through rivers and end up in the sea.
Over the next week, UNEP is asking everyone to examine products in their bathrooms and check its Instagram for information on how they can join the campaign.
Microplastics listed on cosmetic ingredients
Polyethylene (PE)
Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA)
Nylon
Polyethylene terephthalate (PET)
Polypropylene (PP)
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