Affiliation:
1. Department of Water and Energy, Campus Tonala, University of Guadalajara, Tonalá 45425, Mexico
2. Instituto Tecnológico de Veracruz, Unidad de Investigación y Desarrollo en Alimentos, Veracruz 91897, Mexico
3. Environmental Technology, Center of Research and Assistance in Technology and Design of the State of Jalisco, Normalistas 800, Guadalajara 44270, Mexico
Abstract
In this research, the abundance and physical and chemical characteristics of microplastics (MPs) in coastal sediments from three beaches of Puerto Vallarta in Mexico were investigated. The objective of characterizing and finding MPs in sand is to generate information that is useful to manage macroplastic waste, prevent its additional generation, and thus reduce environmental pollution and achieve sustainable development. The MPs were classified according to their physical characteristics such as color, size, and shape under a stereoscopic microscope, and their wear and surface were observed using a scanning electron microscope. The chemical composition of the most representative types of polymers were detected by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. It can be observed that Los Muertos beach presents the highest number of MPs (97.5 particles/m2) followed by Boca de Tomates beach (69.75 particles/m2) and Oro beach (28.75 particles/m2). The differences found between the beaches are attributed to the tourist influx and proximity to the mouth of a river. In total, 37% of MPs were white, followed by 19% yellow, and 11% transparent. The shape distribution of microplastics of sizes < 5 mm and 1 mm was fragmented, the greatest abundance was microfibers, microfragments, and microfilms for MPs between <1 mm and 1 µm, and these corresponded to polyester, polyethylene, cellophane, and polystyrene, respectively.
Subject
Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law,Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment,Geography, Planning and Development,Building and Construction
Reference58 articles.
1. (2023, September 09). Plastics—The Facts 2020 an Analysis of European Plastics Production, Demand and Waste Data. Available online: https://plasticseurope.org/knowledge-hub/plastics-the-facts-2020/.
2. A global inventory of small floating plastic debris;Wilcox;Environ. Res. Lett.,2015
3. River plastic emissions to the world’s oceans;Lebreton;Nat. Commun.,2017
4. Life cycle assessment of injection moulding tools and multicomponent plastic cap production;Agarski;J. Clean. Prod.,2023
5. Microplastic pollution in terrestrial ecosystems: Global implications and sustainable solutions;Zeb;J. Hazard. Mater.,2023