Impacts of plastic pollution measured in new Lyttleton trial

Scientists are investigating the impact of plastics on our marine environment in a new project that has got underway in Lyttleton harbour.

The project – called AIM² (Aotearoa Impacts and Mitigation of Microplastics) is the first comprehensive research investigating the impact of microplastics on New Zealand’s environment.

Scientists from ESR have deployed plastics onto a pontoon in Lyttleton harbour to see what grows on them, what chemical pollutants are taken up and concentrate upon them, and the changes that occur to the plastic itself.

It is estimated there are over 15 trillion pieces of microplastic debris in the world’s oceans, 80 per cent of which originate from land-based activities.

A short video on the project is here : https://bit.ly/2XpUwFt

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