Worldwide production and use of plastics have increased and become common in various aspects of living, from healthcare to construction as well as everyday products. Due to properties such as its durability, lightness, disposability, and cheapness that makes plastics so practical are also the reasons behind its environmental issues (Horton, 2022). Despite its ubiquitousness in the environment, from the most remote mountains to the deepest trenches in the ocean, and its serious environmental and health threats (Chiba et al., 2018), existing research regarding sources, distribution, fate, and impacts remains scarce (Horton, 2022).
Production and use of plastics have increased since the 1950s and the global production has surpassed 300 million tonnes per year since 2014 (Law, 2017; Lebreton et al., 2017). A large proportion of plastics produced becomes waste, either prior to or post-use, with plastic waste exceeding 250 million metric tons by 2025 (Pourebrahimi & Pirooz, 2023). As a result of inadequate waste management and low-recycling rates, a high volume of this plastic waste enters the marine ecosystem where it can persist. Approximately 4.8 to 12.7 million tonnes of plastics enter the marine environment annually (Duncan et al., 2019; Eriksen et al., 2014; Jambeck et al., 2015) which makes up 80 to 85% of the marine litter (Auta et al., 2017) contributing to 5 trillion pieces of plastic in the global oceans and surface waters (Duncan et al., 2019; Eriksen et al., 2014; Jambeck et al., 2015).
Plastic particles can be classified by size into macro (>25 mm), meso (25-5 mm), and micro (<5 mm) plastics (Egessa et al., 2020). Microplastics make up for 92.4% of the total surface plastics (Barnes, 2019). Microplastics can either be primary plastics, which are manufactured as microplastics for certain uses such as synthetic clothing, cosmetics, toothpastes, insect repellents and resin pellets or nurdles (Atugoda et al., 2021; Auta et al., 2017; Cássio et al., 2022) and gets introduced into the environment through wastewater treatment plants and industrial drainage systems (Auta et al., 2017), or secondary microplastics, which are formed from breakdown of larger plastics through chemical, physical, biological, or mechanical processes (Andrady, 2011; Thushari & Senevirathna, 2020).
Maldives was ranked the fourth largest producer of mismanaged waste in 2019 (Barnes, 2019; Patti et al., 2020), with plastics making up 12% of the country’s total waste which accounts for approximately 43,134 tonnes of plastic per year (MOPA, 2021). Maldives sees annual local production of 143 million tonnes of PET bottles, which makes up for 10% of the countries plastic waste, this along with the surveys that shows that 57 million plastic bottles of water are consumed per year by households indicates the high usage and improper disposal of single-use plastic in the Maldives (MOPA, 2021).
However scarce, there are a few studies conducted in the Maldives that look into microplastic pollution. There are inconsistencies in the methodology including sampling protocols, quantification and units used in quantification used in the different studies that makes comparison between the studies problematic. Study carried out in Naifaru (Patti et al., 2020) was done by sampling sediment from the beach, fore reef, and reef flat of the island and conducting analysis by density separation using zinc chloride (ZnCl2) and a Stereo Zoom microscope. Meanwhile, the study done in F. Atoll (Saliu et al., 2018) tested sediment and seawater samples from two sides of the atoll and performed density separation with sodium chloride (NaCl) and sodium iodide (NaI). Additionally, the research done by Naeem, (2023) used density separation method to isolate the microplastics from the organic material and used a Nile red stock solution with n-hexane to stain the microplastics and a Axioplan II Epifluorescence microscope to identify and quantify the microplastic abundance.
According to the above mentioned studies conducted in the Maldives, there is a significant amount of microplastic pollution with an abundance ranging between 55 and 1127 microplastic pieces per kg of sediment. Microplastic abundance in some of the tested sites in Maldives was higher than other coastal areas in the Indian Ocean or other regions (Table 1).
Table 1. Microplastic Abundance at different coastal areas, with Maldivian sites highlighted in bold.
| Location | Microplastic abundance/ kg of sediment | Study |
| Thulusdhoo | 939.3 ± 85.8 | Naeem, 2023 |
| Villingili | 600.8 ± 68.0 | Naeem, 2023 |
| Dhonfanu | 506.8 ± 48.6 | Naeem, 2023 |
| Naifaru | 55 – 1127.5 | Patti et al., 2020 |
| F. Atoll islands (Dharan’boodhoo, Magoodhoo, Bileiydhoo, Filitheyo) | 197 – 822 | Saliu et al., 2019 |
| Andaman and Nicobar Islands | 72.5 – 475 | Mohan et al., 2022 |
| Tamil Nadu, India | 3 – 611 | Sathish et al., 2019 |
| Lesser Antilles, Caribbean | 124 – 341 | Bosker et al., 2018 |
| Baja California Peninsula, Mexico | 135 ± 92 | Piñon-Colin et al., 2018 |
| Mar Menor, Spain | 8.2 – 166.3 | Bayo et al., 2019 |
* Naeem, 2023 – research done looking into microplastic pollution in the Maldives and how land-use change impacts pollution as a part of undergraduate dissertation at the University of Sheffield.
The prominent levels of microplastic abundance on these Maldivian islands can be due to use of single-use plastic, deliberate littering, mismanaged waste, and activities such as fishing, shipping, tourism, aquaculture, and boat building that can introduce plastics into the environment (Lebreton et al., 2017). Moreover, reclamation of land, which is common in the Maldives, with 64.6% of the inhabited islands being reclaimed between 2006-2016, can also contribute to high microplastic levels, as sand mining reintroduces microplastics from marine depositional zones back into the marine environment (Duvat & Magnan, 2019; Patti et al., 2020; Woodall et al., 2014). Additionally, due to the location of Maldives, a large percentage of ocean plastics from other countries in the region can also be brought into the maldives as the ocean currents carrying plastics between Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea flow past the Maldives in reversing direction throughout the year (Pattiaratchi et al., 2022).
The high microplastic abundance in the Maldivian sites may also be a result of difference in experimental methodologies, and the misidentification of organic material as plastics due to insufficient removal that can lead to overestimation of microplastic abundance (Razeghi et al, 2021).
Plastic pollution can have various negative impacts on the marine ecosystem, human health as well as the economy. Studies show that over 220 marine species, including bivalves, turtles, and fish ingest plastics due to misidentification as food, with up to 10,000 mammals and sea turtles, along with 1 million seabirds being killed due to plastics per year (Shiyana et al., 2022; Miller and Spoolman, 2012). The annual review (2020) of Olive Ridley Project rehabilitation centre in the Maldives shows that the main reason for turtle admissions was entanglement, and it was also identified that plastic pollution is also one of the main threats to the critically endangered Hawksbill turtle in the Maldives (Köhnk, 2022). In addition to loss of mobility and decreased growth and reproduction upon ingestion of plastics by marine animals, plastics can also cause leaching of harmful substances and act as vectors for harmful microorganisms and invasive species (Imhof et al., 2017; Kirstein et al., 2016; Thushari & Senevirathna, 2020).
Plastic pollution can also impact higher trophic levels, including humans as it can biomagnify through the food chain and cause accumulation of toxic metals or chemicals in the plastics, causing adverse health impacts (Thushari & Senevirathna, 2020). FAO states that fish contributes over 20% of the animal protein in a daily diet in countries such as the Maldives and Sri Lanka, leading to high levels of plastic pollution causing adverse health impacts (Kapinga & Chung, 2020).
Moreover, plastic pollution can also impact ecosystem health and decrease the aesthetic value due to biodiversity loss which can cause economic impacts in countries such as the Maldives, that depend on tourism and fisheries (Thushari & Senevirathna, 2020). According to IUCN (2009), 71% of national employment and 89% of GDP depends on biodiversity-based sectors in the Maldives and can be impacted by plastic pollution. Additionally, as a result of the impact of plastic pollution on the ecosystem and the quality and quantity of fish caught, it also affects income through fisheries and food availability in countries such as the Maldives where fish is a large component of the diet (Kapinga & Chung, 2020).
In conclusion, despite the high level of microplastic pollution and the negative impacts of plastic pollution on the environment, human health, as well as the economy of countries such as the Maldives, research done is very limited. The existing research shows that Maldives has high levels of plastic pollution and is comparable to some other larger coastal countries in the region. Moveover, it also shows that plastic pollution in the Maldives can be a result of the common use of single use plastic in everyday lives, however, can also be influenced by ocean currents. Therefore, further research is required to identify all the factors influencing plastic pollution and identify its source to frame and implement policies to reduce use of single-use plastics and its abundance in the environment.
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