The nexus of macroplastic and microplastic research and plastic regulation policies in the Philippines marine coastal environments.

The Philippines was reported as one of the top plastic polluters (macroplastics and microplastics (MPs)) to the marine coastal environment, which necessitated the development and enforcement of plastic regulation policies. However, the nexus between the growing research on macroplastic/MP and the plastic regulation policies in the country is unexplored. Current review suggests that macroplastic/MP research in the Philippines is still in its infancy owing to methodological and technological constraints to apportion the sources and fluxes, characterize macroplastics/MPs, and identify influencing socio-environmental factors. While government efforts are underway, it is also unclear if local researches on macroplastics/MPs were the basis in institutionalizing the existing plastic regulation policies. Therefore the nexus between the researches carried out on this problem and the policies enforced cannot be concluded. Overall, this review presents gaps on the macroplastic/MP research needing more work on the problem to establish a sound science plastic regulation policy.

Physical characterization of litter and microplastic along the urban coast of Cagayan de Oro in Macajalar Bay, Philippines.

There are limited litter and microplastic (MP) studies in the Philippines despite the fact that is has one of the longest shorelines that is possibly threatened by waste disposal. This study was carried out to determine the litter and MP in surface sand samples in a highly urbanized coastal environment of Cagayan de Oro in Macajalar Bay, Philippines. The flotation and stereomicroscope identification methods were employed to study MP, while litters were counted to extrapolate the clean coast index (CCI). Overall, MP fibers were found ubiquitously with site-specific abundance. Particularly, the residential site adjacent to the river mouth had the highest litter and MP fiber counts. The built environment like the seaport showed fragmented forms of MP. Likewise, CCI analysis showed an extremely dirty beachfront (CCI = 85) which mainly caused by plastic litters. Overall, the highly urbanized coastal environment may accumulate a distinct form of plastics. This study is preliminary and may underestimate plastic analysis owing to the limited sampling.

Occurrence of surface sand microplastic and litter in Macajalar Bay, Philippines.

Microplastics have become an emerging structural pollutant to the marine environment particularly in the Philippines owing to high plastic load. This study was carried out to determine the occurrence of microplastic and coastal litter in Macajalar Bay, Philippines. Three coastal areas were studied namely, Opol, El Salvador City, and Alubijid with three substations in each area. A total of nine surface sand sediment samples were collected for microplastic analysis. Microplastics were extracted through the flotation method and preliminary identification was carried out using a stereomicroscope. The beach litters were obtained through transect walk in a 5 m × 10 m quadrant per area. Overall, studied microplastics were mainly angular and filament type with colors varying from blue, black, light orange, pale white, and translucent. Litter analysis showed the dominance of plastics across the study area with a mean cumulative coastal clean index (CCI) of 2.40 (clean).

Distribution pattern and multivariate analyses for anthropogenic apportionment of selected coastal water in Macajalar Bay, Philippines.

Macajalar Bay in the southern Philippines has become an attractive thoroughfare with recent developments, rendering anthropogenic input to the coastal waters. Expediting coastal resource management strategies necessitates the present study on coastal water characteristics. This was aided with distribution pattern and multivariate analyses for apportioning possible anthropogenic inputs. A total of 15 biophysicochemical characteristics were studied covering two municipalities (Opol and Jasaan) with six subcoastal communities in 2017. Data were all processed for Q test to eliminate outliers before distribution analyses using univariate (descriptive), inferential (t test, one-way ANOVA, Pearson correlation), and multivariate statistics (hierarchal cluster analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA)). Overall, higher concentrations were determined in the ecotourism site (Opol) than in the industrial site (Jasaan) as sampling months progressed except for oil and grease. Results for total coliform, fecal coliform, heterotrophic plate count (HPC), total suspended solids (TSS), chemical oxygen demand (COD), and oil and grease regardless of spatial-temporal variations exceeded the standards. Distribution pattern revealed variations selectively for pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen (DO), and oil and grease, indicating site-specific distribution. HCA and PCA results corroborated correlation matrices showing elevated concentrations in an ecotourism site (Opol) apportioned anthropogenic input mainly due to rural development and ecotourism. Likewise, in the industrial site (Jasaan), HCA and PCA results reflected possible anthropogenic input from rural development and industries. Overall, anthropogenic apportionment in the bay was influenced by rural development, ecotourism, and industries.