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Connor Mycroft

A Hong Kong green group has found microplastics in 85 per cent of faecal samples from five wild land mammal species in a first-of-its-kind study for the city, with the NGO urging authorities to boost efforts to stop more plastics entering the ecosystem.
Greenpeace said on Monday that it collaborated with university researchers in Hong Kong and Taiwan between June and August of 2022 to collect and analyse 100 samples from buffalo, cattle, boars, macaques and porcupines in the city’s countryside.
The study found microplastics in 85 per cent of the samples and at all seven sampling sites, with 2,503 pieces of microplastic collected during the study, the NGO said.
In terms of species and regions, the highest median concentration of microplastics was uncovered among the faeces of cattle in Lantau Island’s Cheung Sha, with levels reaching 65.5 particles per gram.
Levels for cattle in Mui Wo and buffalo in Pui O Bay, both located on the same island, stood at 16.1 and 17.7 particles per gram, respectively.
Samples taken from macaque monkeys in northern Kowloon’s Kam Shan had the lowest median concentration, at 0.2 particles per gram.
The most common types of plastic uncovered in the study were polyethylene and polypropylene, which are both frequently used in single-use packaging, takeaway containers and disposable utensils.
“This indicates that the pollution from the continuous production of single-use plastics has expanded from the city to the countryside,” Greenpeace campaigner Leanne Tam Wing-lam said.
Other sites that featured in the study were Sai Kung, Lion Rock and Victoria Peak.
Christelle Not, a senior lecturer at the University of Hong Kong’s department of earth sciences, said microplastics were formed from larger materials that had broken down over time.
She added that compared with studies conducted in Thailand, mainland China and the United States, higher concentrations of microplastics were found among samples from wild mammals in Hong Kong.

Scientific findings regarding the negative effects of ingesting microplastics were “limited”, but studies showed birds that consumed a larger quantity could starve to death as they believed their stomachs were full, Not said.
She said other negative effects could include chemicals from the plastics being released into the animals’ bodies and the wider ecosystem.
The first phase of Hong Kong’s single-use plastics ban came into effect in April, prohibiting the sale and distribution of styrofoam food containers and single-use plastics such as straws and cutlery, among other products.
The second phase will extend to other products such as single-use plastic cups and boxes for takeaway services, but the government has yet to provide an exact date for its implementation.
“The government should have the timetable for it, [discuss] how we should regulate it and how we can prevent those plastics invading our ecosystem,” Tam said.
The Greenpeace campaigner also urged authorities to provide more funding to businesses so they could implement reusable “borrow and return” takeaway container systems, rather than relying on single-use disposable products.
She said that cleaning up microplastics after they had already entered the ecosystem was difficult, adding the government should set a target for reducing the total volume of locally produced plastics.
“So we do think that not only recycling, but reduction at the beginning, like the source [of] production, and also the reusable choice for the customer is very important,” Tam said.


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Wild boars were among the species that featured in the study involving Greenpeace. Photo: Jonathan Wong

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News

Hong Kong

Health & Environment

Greenpeace works with researchers to analyse 100 faecal samples from buffalo, cattle, boars, macaques and porcupines in Hong Kong’s countryside


Greenpeace works with researchers to analyse 100 faecal samples from buffalo, cattle, boars, macaques and porcupines in Hong Kong’s countryside.


Hong Kong’s single-use plastics ban

Hong Kong society

Climate change

Wild boar

Microplastics found in 85% of faeces collected from wild animals in Hong Kong: study

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Greenpeace works with researchers to analyse 100 faecal samples from buffalo, cattle, boars, macaques and porcupines in Hong Kong’s countryside

Greenpeace works with researchers to analyse 100 faecal samples from buffalo, cattle, boars, macaques and porcupines in Hong Kong’s countryside