Manchester river has the world’s worst levels of plastic pollution

Environment Agency is urged to act as researchers warn that findings could reflect situation across UK

A BRITISH river has the worst microplastic pollution in the world, researchers have found.

University of Manchester geographers are calling for tighter regulations to prevent plastic entering waterways after they found “extraordinarily high” concentrations in north-west England.

The team examined river sediments from 40 sites across Greater Manchester including urban rivers and rural streams. They found microplastic even in remote parts of Saddleworth Moor.

But the Tame at Denton, which is in the Mersey/irwell catchment, was found to have the highest levels of microplastics recorded anywhere in the world, at 517,000 particles per m2 (48,000 per sq ft). The level was far higher than at built-up sites like the Incheon-gyeonggi beaches in South Korea or the Pearl River Estuary in Hong Kong.

Jamie Woodward, professor of physical geography at the university’s department of geography, called for the Environment Agency to monitor microplastic levels in rivers. “If you had done the work in the West Midlands or south-east England I am sure you would have got similar results,” he said.

“We found we had the worst levels in the world, some of which were extraordinarily high.”

The team believe the plastic is finding its way into rivers from industrial effluent and domestic waste water. It has been shown that a single polyester fleece jacket can release more than 1,900 plastic fibres per wash.

The tests were carried out in 2015. The team found that around 70 per cent of the microplastics were washed away following the devastating floods of 2015-16.

“While that is good for the river beds, because we now know they can effectively cleanse themselves, it is bad news for the oceans,” added Professor Woodward. “To tackle the problem in the oceans, we have to prevent microplastics entering river channels.”

An Environment Agency spokesman said: “We are working with the water industry and academics to investigate the types and quantities of microplastics entering the environment. This research will feed into plans to tackle this type of pollution at the source. Plastic pollution is a threat to our natural environment and by working together, we can reduce the amount that enters our land, rivers and the sea and protect wildlife for future generations.”

The research was published in Nature Geoscience.