Microplastic pollution on island beaches, Oahu, Hawai‘i

Abstract

We report microplastic densities on windward beaches of Oahu, Hawai‘i, USA, an island that received about 6 million tourist visits a year. Microplastic densities, surveyed on six Oahu beaches, were highest on the beaches with the coarsest sands, associated with high wave energy. On those beaches, densities were very high (700–1700 particles m-2), as high as those recorded on other remote island beaches worldwide. Densities were higher at storm tide lines than high tide lines. Results from our study provide empirical data on the distribution of microplastics on the most populated and visited of the Hawaiian islands.