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SOUTH AUSTRALIA
AUSMAP's highest microplastic loads.
AUSMAP South australia
AUSMAP in South Australia
AUSMAP has collected 97 samples across South Australia between 2018 and 2024, with data on microplastic (mp) loads (mp/m²) collected across metropolitan Adelaide, including coastal beaches and extensive sampling around West Lakes, Port River and Barker Wetlands. More regional areas surveyed include the Eyre Peninsula, South East SA, Port Augusta, Whyalla, and Kangaroo Island.
To date, 45 samples collected from coastal beaches, including metropolitan beaches such as Henley, Glenelg, Tennyson, Hallett Cove, Port Noarlunga, and Brighton Beach all typically presenting loads that are Very Low to Low loads of microplastics, with an average of 8.3 mp/m2. However, when compared to microplastics identified from estuarine locations, the loads are Extreme, with an average of 98,835 mp/m², collected from 37 samples across metropolitan Adelaide and regionally.
Highest Microplastic loads in australia
The highest microplastic loads nationally, have been identified across northern Adelaide, with Extreme concentrations found around West Lakes and wetlands Port Adelaide.
Samples collected at Tiranna Reserve and Blackdragon Beach, West Lakes, have exceeded loads of 35,000 mp/m² since 2019, measuring Extreme on AUSMAP’s grading scale. As a semi-enclosed estuarine system, the West Lakes accumulate microplastic waste from industrial and urban activities up-catchment.
Sampling at seven sites along the Port River showed concentrations ranging from 0 mp/m² at Club Beach, to over 750,000 mp/m² at Carp Pond on the edge of the Barker Wetlands - the highest loads of microplastics found nationally. Analysis of these samples showed that they were dominated by industrial pellets and hard fragments, referred to as ‘shards’ - from industrial processing of larger plastic items. These excessive loads indicate significant, and ongoing, mismanagement of plastics factories in the upper catchment areas. Read more about this here.
Urgent Action is needed.
South Australia has some of the highest microplastic loads in the country. Urgent action is needed to stop this pollution at the source, for both the aquatic environment and residents accessing the affected waterways.
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If you want to be involved in putting microplastics in the map in South Australia, please reach out to us at info@ausmap.org
