Title |
Unraveling Macroplastic Pollution in Rural and Urban Beaches in Sarangani Bay Protected Seascape, Mindanao, Philippines |
Authors |
Frank T. Acot, Jr. , Recca E. Sajorne, Nur-Ayn K. Omar, Peter D. Suson, Lynn Esther E. Rallos, and Hernando P. Bacosa |
Publication date |
2022 |
Journal |
Journal of Marine Science and Engineering |
Volume |
10 |
Pages |
1532 |
Publisher |
MDPI |
Abstract |
Plastic pollution in the ocean is an emerging environmental concern in the Philippines. This
study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of macroplastics, composition of plastic litter, and
the clean-coast index (CCI) of urban and rural beaches in Sarangani Bay. Plastic litter was collected
by delineating a 100-m transecting line with three 4 m × 4 m quadrats. The density of macroplastic
litter in urban areas (0.66 items m−2) was significantly higher than in rural areas (0.29 items m−2). The
plastics sampled were predominantly food packaging, such as polyethylene bags, which are locally
known as sando bags. The accumulation rate of macroplastic litter ranged from 0.07 items d−1 m−2
to 0.40 items d−1 m−2 , in which urban beaches (0.25 items d−1 m−2) have a significantly higher
accumulation rate than rural beaches (0.11 items d−1 m−2). Overall, the calculated CCI of the beaches
of Sarangani Bay was categorized as clean to moderately clean for rural beaches and moderately
clean to extremely dirty for urban beaches. |
Index terms / Keywords |
Clean-coast index (CCI); marine litter; accumulation; density |
DOI |
do: 10.3390/jmse10101532 |
URL |
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