A critical review of the emerging research on the detection and assessment of microplastics pollution in the coastal, marine, and urban Bangladesh

Highlights

● Coastal and marine regions are the most studied for microplastic pollution.

● Tourism is a major cause of microplastic pollution in coastal regions.

● Sediments contain larger microplastics while fish ingest smaller microplastics.

● Inland lakes, rivers, and freshwater fish are impacted by microplastic pollution.

● Microplastics are found in edible salts, however, presence is less in refined salt.

Abstract

The research on the extent and effects of microplastics pollution in the Global South is only getting started. Bangladesh is a South Asian country with one of the fastest growing economies in the world, however, such exponential economic growth has also increased the pollution threats to its natural and urban environment. In this paper, we reviewed the recent primary research on the assessment of the extent of microplastics pollution in Bangladesh. From the online databases, we developed a compilation of emerging research articles that detected and quantified microplastics in different coastal, marine, and urban environments in Bangladesh. Most of the studies focused on the coastal environment (e.g., beach sediment) and marine fish, while limited data were available for the urban environment. We also discussed the relationship of the type of anthropogenic activities with the observed microplastic pollution. The Cox’s Bazar sea beach in south-east Bangladesh experienced microplastics pollution due to tourism activities, while fishing and other anthropogenic activities led to microplastics pollution in the Bay of Bengal. While microplastics larger than 1 mm were prevalent in the beach sediments, smaller microplastics with size below 0.5 mm were prevalent in marine fish samples. Moreover, the differences in microplastic abundance, size, shape, color, and polymer type found were depended on the sampling sites and relevant anthropogenic activities. It is imperative to identify major sources of microplastics pollution in both natural and urban environment, determine potential environmental and human health effects, and develop mitigating and prevention strategies for reducing microplastics pollution.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Plastic pollution / Waste management / Global south / Sustainability / Marine pollution

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