02. Research on the current status of plastic waste in some intertidal ecosystems of Cat Ba archipelago, Cat Hai district, Hai Phong city

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate the current status of plastic waste in some intertidal ecosystems in Cat Ba archipelago, Cat Hai district, Hai Phong city. The results showed that the average volume of plastic waste was 48.94 g/m² and 18.62 g/m² in the fishing port and the mangroves, respectively. Regarding the change in the number of plastic waste objects, a total of 153 objects were obtained in the fishing port (average density of 0.51 objects/m²) and 70 objects were obtained in the mangrove habitat (average density of 0.23 objects/m²⁾. LDPE had the highest moisture content, ranging from 16.67 % to 38.33 %. PVC, PET and PP had moisture contents of 5.99 % - 22.91 %, 12.77 % - 23.08 % and 4.3 % - 21.81 %, respectively. HDPE and PS had similar moisture content, ranging from 7.14 - 18.18 %. The research results are the basis for further studies in order to propose solutions for the management and control of marine plastic waste.