Nicosia, Cyprus. Microplastics and other plastic debris are widespread on Cyprus beaches, with a new study finding an average density of 337 microplastic particles per square metre.
Findings from samples across the island
The study analysed microplastics ranging from one to five millimetres and mesoplastics ranging from five to up to 25 millimetres. Samples were collected from 16 beaches across Cyprus, with four individual samples taken at each beach.
One beach recorded an average of 2,422 microplastic particles per square metre, with individual samples reaching up to 4,020 particles per square metre in the same ratio.
Offshore contamination identified as main driver
According to the study, most fragmented plastics found on Cyprus beaches were already circulating in the marine environment rather than stemming directly from local coastal runoff, pointing to offshore contamination as the main driver.
“Generally, most of the plastics come from land but then once they enter the marine environment they can drift away and go back to the shore where they break down from weathering processes and then head back to the sea in broken pieces,” said Ioannis Savva, the study’s lead author, in comments accompanying the research published in the Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering.
“So all these plastic fragments we saw here in Cyprus, they are all broken pieces of plastics that have been drifting all around the Eastern Mediterranean region,” Savva said.
Baseline study and follow-up research
Savva said the research represents a baseline assessment of micro- and mesoplastic pollution on Cyprus’ shores and noted that the size differentiation reflects the range of plastics being studied.
Even higher levels have been recorded in a follow-up study currently being prepared, with individual samples reaching up to 20,600 plastic particles per square metre.
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