SAMPLING AND PROCESSING MICRO AND

MESOPLASTIC SAMPLES FROM SANDY

BEACHES
Alicia Herrera Ulibarri, Ico Martínez Sánchez, May Gómez
Cabrera, Jorge Rapp Cabrera, Soledad Álvarez Suárez, Ignacio
Gestoso García, João Canning Clode
PLASMAR Project :: Setting the bases for sustainable maritime spatial planning in Macaronesia

To cite this report:

Herrera, A.; Martinez, I.; Gómez, M.; Rapp J.; Álvarez, S.; Gestoso, I.; Canning-Clode,
J. 2018. Muestreo y procesamiento de muestras de micro y mesoplásticos recogidas
en playas. Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Agência regional para o
desenvolvimento da investigação, tecnología e inovação. . Report prepared as part of
PLASMAR Project (co-financed by ERDF as part of POMAC 2014-2020).14pp.

Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.

LEGAL NOTICE
This document has been prepared as part of PLASMAR Project (co-financed by ERDF
as part of POMAC 2014-2020), however it reflects the views only of the authors, and
the Project partners or POMAC 2014-2010 programme cannot be held responsible for
any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

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PLASMAR project :: Setting the bases for sustainable maritime spatial planning in Macaronesia

Table of contents

I. LARGEST SIZE FRACTION (1-5 MM AND 5-25 MM) 6

1.1 SAMPLING 7
1.2 PLASTIC EXTRACTION 8
1.3 QUANTIFYING 9

II. SMALLEST SIZE FRACTION (10µM-1 MM) 10

2.1 SAMPLING 11
2.2 PLASTIC EXTRACTION 11
2.3 QUANTIFYING 13

REFERENCES 14

ANNEX I (MATERIAL) 15

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PLASMAR Project :: Setting the bases for sustainable maritime spatial planning in Macaronesia

Figures

FIGURE 1. 50 x 50cm quadrant placed at the high tide line ____________________________ 7

FIGURE 2. A) Collect 1L of the first ‘cm’ of sand; B) Placing the sand in a 1mm mesh bag _____ 7

FIGURE 3. Sample washed in sea water ___________________________________________ 8

FIGURE 4. Transfering the sample to a beaker containing ethanol (96%). _________________ 8

FIGURE 5. Separated sample. Biological material is in the supernatant and microplastics are at
the bottom. _________________________________________________________________ 9

FIGURE 6. Sand sample shaking for 20 minutes ____________________________________ 11

FIGURE 7. Decanted sample____________________________________________________ 11

FIGURE 8. Siphoning off the supernatant _________________________________________ 12

FIGURE 9. Filtration system with a 10µm polycarbonate filters. ________________________ 12

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.
I. Largest size fraction (1-5 mm and 5-25 mm)
 Sampling and processing micro and mesoplastic samples from sandy beaches/ Largest size
fraction (1-5 mm and 5-25 mm)

1.1 Sampling
1- Discover the location of the beach
2- Locating the microplastics on the beach, usually at the high tide line. Frame
them in the center of a 50 x 50 cm quadrant (Figure 1).
3- Photograph the sampling area.
4- Collect 1L of the first ‘cm’ of sand with a metal spoon, weigh the sample and put
it in a 1mm mesh bag (Figure 2).
5- Rinse the bag in sea water, to eliminate the sand, and to retain only
microplastics and organic material (Figure 3).

Figure 1. 50 x 50cm quadrant placed at the high tide line

A B
Figure 2. A) Collect 1L of the first ‘cm’ of sand; B) Placing the sand in a 1mm mesh bag

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Sampling and processing micro and mesoplastic samples from sandy beaches/ Largest size
fraction (1-5 mm and 5-25 mm)

Figure 3. Sample washed in sea water

1.2 Plastic extraction

1- If the samples contain biological material (remaining vegetal fragments), it is
necessary dry the sample well and perform density separation using ethanol (96%).
2- Placing a funnel in a 500mL beaker, pour in the contents of the sample bag.
Then, wash the sample with ethanol, using a squirt bottle up to the 100mL mark (Figure
4).

Figure 4. Transfering the sample to a beaker containing ethanol (96%).

3- Decant the supernatant from above the organic sample (if EPS and XPS foam
remains, remove with forceps and place them in a Petri dish separated from the other
microplastics. This eases both inspection and measuring).
4- Filter the microplastics remaining on the bottom using a 50 µm mesh net (also
one can use a 100 or 200 µm mesh net, if available).
5- If the sample contains sand, separate it from the microplastics by density with a
saturated NaCl solution (358.9 g/L).

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 Sampling and processing micro and mesoplastic samples from sandy beaches/ Largest size
fraction (1-5 mm and 5-25 mm)

6- Remove mesh-filter with the microplastics, place it in a petri dish and dry it in
an oven at 60ºC for 24 hours (if the sample contains tar or polystyrene, don’t dry it in a
heater).
7- Separate micro (1-5mm) and mesoplastic (5-25mm) fractions with a 5mm sieve.

Figure 5. Separated sample. Biological material is in the supernatant and microplastics are at
the bottom.

1.3 Quantifying
1- Weigh microplastics on a precision balance.
2- Count them with a stereomicroscope or with particle quantifying software.
3- Results are expressed in items/m2, g/m2, items/L, g/L and, if it is possible, in
items/Kg and g/Kg.

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II. Smallest size fraction (10µm-1 mm)
Sampling and processing micro and mesoplastic samples from sandy beaches/Smallest size fraction (10µm-1 mm)

2.1 Sampling
Inside the same quadrant for the largest fraction, collect 100mL of surface sand
with a metal spoon.

2.2 Plastic extraction

First, prepare a saturated NaCl solution with a density of 1.2 g/cm3 (358.9g
NaCl in 1L of bi-distilled water).
1- Measure exactly 50mL of sand into a 50mL beaker. Rinse into a 250mL beaker
with a saturated NaCl solution using a wash bottle and make up to 250mL.
2- Place the beaker on a magnetic hotplate stirrer at 600 rpm for 20 minutes
(Figure 6). Depending on its composition, some of the sand may be magnetic and
become attached to the magnetic stirring bar.

Figure 6. Sand sample shaking for 20 minutes

3- Decant the sample, preferably within 12 hours, but not more than 24.
Depending on the type of sand, this time can be reduced to 1 to 5 hours as
recommended by Besley et al. (2017) (Figure 7).

Figure 7. Decanted sample

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Sampling and processing micro and mesoplastic samples from sandy beaches/Smallest size fraction (10µm-1 mm)

4- Carefully remove the supernatant by siphoning (Figure 8) and filter it through a

200µm mesh net. Observe and quantify this fraction under a stereomicroscope
(between 200 µm-1 mm).
5- Filter the remaining sample through a 10 µm polycarbonate filter (10-200 µm
size fraction) (Figure 9).
We recommend repeating this procedure three times and using a new filter
each time. This procedure will ensure the best extraction efficiency.

Figure 8. Siphoning off the supernatant

Figure 9. Filtration system with a 10µm polycarbonate filters.

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Sampling and processing micro and mesoplastic samples from sandy beaches/Smallest size fraction (10µm-1 mm)

2.3 Quantifying

1- Count using a stereomicroscope.

2- Express results as items/m2, items/L and, if possible, in items/Kg.

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References

Besley A., Vijver M.G., Behrens P., Bosker T., 2017. A standardized method for
sampling and extraction methods for quantifying microplastics in beach sand.
Marine Pollution Bulletin, 14(1): 77-83

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Annex I (material)

- 50x50 cm quadrant
- Camera
- Big metallic spoon
- Little metallic spoon
- 1L beaker
- 1mm mesh bag or, alternatively, a 1mm mesh net to filter sand collected with
microplastics
- Ethanol (96%)
- 1L wash bottle
- 500mL beaker
- Funnel
- Forceps/tongs
- Sodium chloride (NaCl)
- Glass petri dishes
- Heater
- 5mm sieve
- Precision balance
- Stereomicroscope
- Container to collect and store 100mL of sand (10 µm-1 mm fraction)
- Bidistilled water
- Graduate cylinder
- Magnetic hotplate stirrer
- 200µm mesh net
- Beakers of different sizes
- Polycarbonate filter with a pore of 10µm

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