Cleaning up our oceans

Australian Geographic Society

Support from the Australian Geographic Society has enabled a Flinders University investigation into microplastics – a critical step toward cleaning up our oceans.

Our plastic consumption has quadrupled over the past 30 years – generating 353 million tonnes of waste since the year 2000.

Nearly two-thirds of plastic waste now comes from shortlived products used for less than five years, including 40% from packaging, 12% from consumer goods and 11% from clothing and textiles.

And it’s waste that is not going away.

Microplastics are tiny fragments of plastic – mostly not visible to the naked eye – that have broken down from larger plastic items but have not decomposed completely.

Global warnings about microplastic contamination in our environment have been issued by researchers for many years. Now, with growing evidence of causing health problems, their escalating contamination of land, air, food and waterways, community demand to find a solution has been heightened.

A crucial first step is to measure the size of the problem.

Flinders University has been at the forefront of global research to identify and understand the types of microplastics in local rivers and oceans, measure the current quantities of microplastics in waterways, and to trace the sources.

“There has been a glaring lack of data,” says Flinders University researcher, Dr Anastasiia Snigirova.

“We need to understand what we are dealing with first, before government can create effective mitigation strategies.”

Dr Anastasiia Snigirova

In 2023, Dr Snigirova led a microplastics study funded by the Australian Geographic Society, in collaboration with Professor Sophie Leterme from Flinders University’s Nano & Microplastics Research Consortium.

The study also benefited from research support from the University and from state government environmental authorities, the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) and South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI).

The Australian Geographic Society is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to conservation, research and exploration. Since 1987 it has supported thousands of projects that have restored ecosystems, protected endangered species, elevated Indigenous knowledge and driven bold discovery.

Through philanthropic support, the Society ensures this vital work delivers real-world impact while also inspiring the wider public.

“We seek to empower individuals and organisations to tackle environmental challenges and find innovative solutions to the many threats faced by our natural world,” says Chrissie Goldrick, Chair of the Australian Geographic Society.

With the foundation’s support Dr Snigirova was able to carry out a study into microplastics pollution in the Gulf Saint Vincent – the waterway between South Australia’s Yorke and Fleurieu Peninsulas.

The research looked specifically at minute microplastics particles – ranging in size from 20 microns (about 0.02 millimetre) to two millimetres in length, and their distribution in the water column.

“The investigation indicated high variations of microplastics throughout the gulf, but with 8 particles per litre on average,” says Dr Snigirova.

“As a baseline study on microplastic contaminants it’s impossible to compare these results. But any level of microplastics in our waterways is not good news.”

The results also showed no difference in the concentration of microplastics at different ocean depths.

“We collected water samples near the surface and also deep parts of the gulf, and found no difference in the concentration, because those particles are being mixed in a very dynamic environment, constantly affected by tides, winds and currents.”

The data from the research study will now be used by government bodies, such as the Environmental Protection Authority, to develop strategies to mitigate the issue.

“Thanks to the Australian Geographic Society, this research will form baseline data and contribute to a long-term database of this developing and devastating situation,” says Dr Snigirova.

“It’s now important to continue ongoing sample collection, to build accurate measurements on microplastics accumulation in our rivers and oceans.

“From this data, I’m confident we can find many answers to this significant issue.”

Dr Snigirova believes the next crucial step in microplastics research will be to measure how bad the effects are on the health of the community – research that is now being led by Associate Professor Melanie MacGregor at Flinders Nano & Microplastics Research Consortium.

“There is so much more data we must collect to obtain an absolutely clear picture of how dire the situation is and before we can truly clean up our oceans – but this is a good start.”