Filling in the knowledge gap: Observing MacroPlastic litter in South Africa's rivers

Only 12% of the world's published plastic research includes references to Africa despite it being a significant contributor global waste and mismanagement problem (~88.5% Africa's is mismanaged). Ocean plastics are transported from land by rivers sea. However, source contextualization complex. Many African predominantly run alongside human settlements that host informal dumpsites. In this study simple cost effective, easily deployed, consistent replicable survey methodology was employed. The quantified macroplastic in three discharging into Algoa Bay, South Africa. results indicated industrial Swartkops metropolitan Baakens Rivers both illustrate moderate pollution (>3000 particles/day), with relatively natural Sundays River showing minimal evidence river macro (<100 particles/day). types were noted using RIMMEL app (premier implementation), enabling proportional comparison different litter be completed.