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Shocking levels of microplastic pollution have been found in wetlands on the edge of an industrial area in Adelaide, with the source being plastic production factories and catchment runoff.
The results are AUSMAPs, a project of Total Environment Centre, largest found so far since starting to sample in the wetlands since 2019.
AUSMAP Director, Dr Michelle Blewitt said, “The pollution has been going on for years, with little action from environment protection authorities and factory owners.
Over 796,000 pieces per square metre, which are long-lasting and accumulating every year.”
These levels of microplastics pollution are a continuous danger to fish and birdlife in the Barker Wetlands (and adjoining waterways) and contribute to the microplastic load that is being absorbed by the human population.
Recently the plastic factory at Kilburn, a major source of the pollution, was granted $20m to upgrade its recycling operations, targeting soft plastics. This welcome development must be accompanied by guarantees that the pollution will cease via conditions imposed in the grant agreement, EPA licence and development consent.
In a Yahoo article published yesterday, EPA SA responded with a statement that said, “microplastics are an area of concern for many environment protection authorities across the world and the wetlands are designed to help manage pollution, and keep it away from beaches.”
“We consider the claim by the EPA that the pollution sent into the wetlands is being effectively treated laughable,” TEC said.
“There are no interception traps at facilities or even monitoring. AUSMAPs results show that action at source to filter out microplastics from the industrial area and urban runoff in the catchment needs to be taken, rather than filling up these wetlands with plastic pollution.”
Read more about this project on the AUSMAP website.
