Accumulation and distribution of virgin plastic granules on New Zealand beaches

Abstract

A 1972–76 survey of over 300 beaches showed that small plastic pellets and granules, of the kinds commonly being recorded on shores around the North Atlantic, are also widely distributed on the New Zealand foreshore. Most of the pellets are virgin polyolefins, the imported feedstock of the local plastics industry. The pellets find their way into the environment through accidental spillage during transport and handling; they are not litter or waste in the usual sense. The quantity of these virgin plastic pellets on New Zealand beaches today possibly exceeds 1000 t and has a value in excess of NZ$1 000 000. Virgin polystyrene pellets are rare: virgin polyvinyl chloride pellets were never seen. Numbers of pellets are greatest near Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch, which are the important source areas. However, pellets are also found on beaches remote from these cities, and some may have come from eastern Australia. Because they degrade slowly, plastics can be a significant contributor to coastal pollution, but the environmental hazards of their accumulation are uncertain.