Microplastic pollution in the marine environment is an increasing problem globally because of ingestion by marine organisms. The quantity and distribution of plastic pieces found along New Jersey beaches were analyzed at seven sites along Sandy Hook Bay (SHB) and nine sites outside SHB down the Atlantic Coast (AC) using 5 m2 transects. Microplastics (&lt;4.75 mm) accounted for 71% of 1824 total SHB plastics up to 28 mm but only 54% of 195 total AC plastics. SHB sites had nearly 16-fold higher microplastics on average than AC sites (260/m2 and 21/m2, respectively), with 669 microplastics at one SHB site. Pre-production pellets (nurdles) were the predominant microplastic in SHB (73%) while fragments predominated in AC (43%). Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) of the microplastics identified polyethylene as the major type of polymer for nurdles while fragments were both polyethylene and polypropylene. FTIR and scanning electron microscopy revealed evidence of polymer aging.

Distribution and abundance of microplastic pollution on Sandy Hook Bay beaches is higher than on New Jersey coastal beaches

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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