Page - 115 - in Freshwater Microplastics - Emerging Environmental Contaminants?

4.1 CurrentChallenges 4.1.1 WasteManagement Unlikemost developed nationswhere plastic waste is often separated from other wastes prior to disposal [54], themanagement of solidwastes inmanydeveloping countries can be considered as problematic often due to inappropriate technology and infrastructure [55].Thuswhileasignificantproportionofplastics indeveloped countries are collected and recycled [6], in most African countries, even in the presence of reuse and/or recycling practices, effective plastic wastemanagement often lacks a legal foundation [24]. This results in urban and industrial wastes in developing countries being sent to disposal sites or dumped as mixed bulks [56]. This type of dumping of refuse has been documented as a major cause of pollution in African waters and is a recognized source for MP pollution (e.g., Fig. 2b). Inorder to improvewastemanagementpractices, sustainableapproachesshould be a priority. Examples of these approaches could include establishing permanent recycling stations orworkingwith communities to promote recycling and change their perception of plastic from disposable single-use items. However, such approaches require time and effort, andmoreover do necessarily have an impact on the current level of plastic waste in the inland water bodies. Following the characterizationofplastic litter inMongolia’sLakeHovsgol, localplans toregulate wastemanagementandreducewasteproductionweresuggested [25].Basedon the analyses and observationsmade in the two case studies presented in this chapter, similar proposals could certainly be made for this affected area and potentially implemented in other areas, following appropriate initial data collection and analysis. Onemethodology that has been proposed for quickly assessing the impact of waste in the environment is the rapid environmental assessment (REA). The methodinvolvesscoringtheabundancesofkeyindicatorspeciesandthemagnitude of environmental pressures concurrentlyon the same logarithmic assessment scale [57].Highpressurescorescoupledwithdecreasesinbiologicalabundancesindicate that urgent action is mediated. REAs were used to assess potential impacts and threats in thecoastal regionofKerkennah,Tunisia.Solidwastedensities, including plastics,were rankedwithhighscores, indicating theneedforaction,but scores for otherpressuresandbiological abundancedecreaseswerenotdetermined tobehigh enoughfor remediationactions to takeplace. In thisexample theauthors suggested that beach rubbish and coastal debris should be cleanedup, but further actionwas not needed at the present time [57].While the REA approach demands a certain level of taxonomicknowledge, this is notprohibitory for the involvementof “non- experts” as the focus is taxonomic breadth rather than depth (i.e., broadscale). In Kerkennah, the training of teammemberswithout specific taxonomic or technical expertisewasachievedviaa1–2hPowerPointpresentationfollowedbytrialREAs. Followingtraining,assessmentateachsitewas typicallyconductedinapproximately Microplastics in InlandAfricanWaters: Presence, Sources, andFate 115