A world-first study has found concentrations of plastics in some lakes are higher than in the most contaminated parts of oceans, demonstrating the extent to which plastics have invaded Earth’s ecosystems.
In a study released today, researchers sampled 38 lakes and reservoirs around the world, including in Australia, the United States, United Kingdom and Europe. Plastics and microplastics were found at every site, including very remote locations.
Lakes are sentinels for human activity. Many lakes are already suffering from issues such as algal blooms, deoxygenation, over-extraction and drying. Plastic contamination adds yet another threat to these highly stressed ecosystems.
