Did you know that Bronte and Tamarama Beach have some of the lowest levels of microplastics in the sand compared to other beaches in Sydney?
According to a study, Bronte and Tamarama Beach have very low levels of microplastics compared to the other samples gathered across 300 beaches in Australia by the Australian Microplastic Assessment Project.
A total of three million microplastic fragments were collected from the samplings in the beaches, which were then logged into the interactive hot map. It showed that Bronte Beach had just seven microplastic fragments per square metre while Tamarama Beach had three microplastic fragments per square metre. Both are in the green zone for having a very low level of microplastic fragments.
The worst beach has over 4,000 tiny particles of plastic per square metre.
Manly Cove in the Northern Beaches has been marked in the black zone as the researchers sampled 4,051 microplastic fragments per square metre.
AUSMAP Research Director Dr Scott Wilson of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the Macquarie University said this project provided the “most substantial data we have on the scope and impact of microplastics in Australia’s waterways.”
“Australia’s massive coastline makes us particularly vulnerable to microplastics,” Mr Wilson said.
“While we know that we have a big problem with plastic pollution entering ocean currents everywhere, one of the major findings we have uncovered through this project is that most of the microplastics on a shoreline will be from that local catchment.”
AUSMAP said that microplastics levels were higher around urban waterways, in cities and towns with a large population.
Microplastic, which never completely breaks down, can come from activewear clothing, synthetic grasses, rubbish, and many other sources that become contaminants when it’s absorbed in the water, harming marine life that eats the bits of these plastics.
“They’re not just eating the plastic – they’re potentially getting a whole cocktail of chemicals as well.
Photo Credit: Macquarie University
“We don’t know yet, what the long-term effects will be from ingesting microplastics and how much of these harmful chemicals will find their way into humans.
“What we do know, is that we can’t wait around to find out how bad it is. AUSMAP will help us to track where microplastics are coming from so we can stop it at the source.”
AUSMAP partnered with local governments and state environmental agencies for this project. The next step is educating the public about the best practices to reduce microplastics contamination on the beaches.
The AUSMAP data was cited for the Eureka Prize in 2021 for Innovation in Citizen Science. About 800 volunteers participated in the project that started in 2018.
