Microplastic Pollution in Indonesia: The Contribution of Human Activity to the Abundance of Microplastics

¹ Doctoral Program Environmental Science, School of Postgraduate Studies, Universitas Diponegoro, Semarang 50241, Indonesia
² Geography Department, Faculty of Social Science, Universitas Negeri Semarang, Semarang 50229, Indonesia
³ Chemical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Diponegoro, Semarang 50275, Indonesia
⁴ Geological Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Diponegoro, Semarang 50275, Indonesia

^* Corresponding author: wahyusetyaningsih@mail.unnes.ac.id

Abstract

Plastic in Indonesia are used as wrappers on household scale to large industrial products. To reach low-income consumers the company releases cheap plastic products and daily necessities in smaller plastic wrap which causes high use of plastics even in rural areas and causes macro to micro-sized plastics pollution. This study used a systematic literature review method. Google Scholar and Science Direct databases are used in this literature study. The inclusion criteria in selecting articles to be reviewed contain the keywords "microplastic", "microplastic abundance" and "urban areas". Based on these criteria 32 articles published since 2014. Most of the research was carried out in coastal and marine environment. The greatest abundance of microplastic is found in coastal areas sediments and estuary water. The dominant forms are fragments and fibers with polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE) types. The morphology and types indicate that the source is secondary microplastics mostly comes from human activities in urban areas. More microplastic research is needed in Indonesia, especially in the terrestrial area including in soil and groundwater to identify the main sources of pollution, the effect of waste management on microplastic abundance and identify pathways for microplastic pollution from land to the sea.