Broadscale Microplastic Assessment
The Broadscale Microplastic Assessment (BMA) is Australia's first large-scale study of microplastic contamination, covering 120 coastal waterways in NSW.
The study was commissioned by the NSW Environment Protection Authority under the Waste and Sustainable Materials Strategy. The technical report, summary report card and full dataset were prepared by the Science and Insights division within the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.
This research responds to the NSW Marine Debris Threat and Risk Assessment which identified microplastics as a major threat to marine ecosystems.
Purpose
The purpose of the assessment was to identify the coastal waterways most contaminated by microplastics and provide a clear picture of the scale and type of microplastics in our waterways. This study provides the first baseline for NSW coastal waterways, enabling targeted management and policy action, as well as raising awareness within community of the scale and spread of microplastic contamination.
Key findings
- Microplastics were detected in all 120 waterways, with concentrations ranging from 0.02 to 34.80 particles per cubic metre.
- Highest contamination was found in urban waterways in the Hawkesbury–Sydney region, including Cooks River, Dee Why Lagoon, and Upper Parramatta River.
- Lowest contamination was found in minimally disturbed catchments on the state’s north and south coast – Myall Lake, Nadgee Lake, Middle Lagoon, Myall Broadwater and Wallaga Lake.
- Smaller particles (<1 mm) dominate, and items like packaging foam and pellets point to traceable sources and therefore are considered priority items.
The results provide NSW with its most comprehensive understanding of where microplastics are present along the state’s coastline, and which materials contribute most to the problem.
Why it matters
Microplastics pose a growing threat to estuarine health, especially in urban catchments.
The full report and summary report are now available. Explore contamination grades, hotspot maps, and recommendations for future monitoring and intervention.
Report and data
- Read the report card: Broadscale microplastic assessment in NSW estuaries 2021-24 (PDF 12MB)
- Read the technical report: Broadscale microplastic assessment in NSW estuaries (PDF 24.7MB)
- Explore the data on SEED: Broadscale microplastic assessment dashboard
What we are doing
NSW is already taking action to reduce plastic pollution and stop microplastics at the source, including:
- reducing plastic litter by 45% since 2018–19, exceeding the NSW Government’s target to reduce plastic litter by 30% by 2025
- Plastics Plan 2.0, phasing out highly littered and avoidable plastic items such as bags with handles, tags to seal bags, fruit and vegetable stickers and tackling products that fragment into microplastics
- Operation Clean Sweep NSW and Operation Pellet Patrol, working directly with industry to prevent spills of plastic feedstock like nurdles during transport, handling and manufacturing
- targeted compliance and enforcement, such as for plastic microbeads in personal care products, focusing on preventable pollution incidents that allow plastics to escape into waterways
- Litter Prevention Program and grants, supporting councils to reduce litter before it enters stormwater systems and waterways
- Nature Hates a Tosser campaign and the Report to EPA initiative, encouraging the community to reduce litter and report littering from vehicles
- Plastics Research Program, building universities and government research institutions capability to measure, monitor and better understand microplastics
- Streets to Sea program to reduce litter flowing into our waterways from land, including a new pilot to map and assess litter flow analysis in the Cooks River and Manly Lagoon
- The EPA is a member of the Solving Plastic Waste Cooperative Research Centre (CRC), supporting practical research to better understand and prevent microplastics, including in agricultural soils.
Questions and answers
Estuaries naturally accumulate and concentrate microplastics because they receive water from upstream catchments, making them the best locations for measuring statewide contamination.
This study focused on coastal waterways because they are the key point where land-based contaminants, including microplastics, enters the marine environment.
Estuaries act as natural sinks, temporarily trapping pollutants transported from upstream catchments before they move offshore. This makes them ideal locations for detecting and understanding the cumulative impacts of urban stormwater, agricultural runoff, and other land-based sources of microplastic contamination.
Coastal estuaries were also selected because they are already part of an established long-term monitoring program. NSW’s Estuary Health Monitoring Program has been measuring water quality in estuaries since 2007, using a consistent sampling design.
Aligning the microplastics study with this existing framework ensures additional contaminants are understood.
The findings strengthen evidence-based decision making and guide targeted action to reduce the environmental impacts of microplastics in NSW waterways.
The outcomes will inform ongoing EPA initiatives and supports the objectives of the NSW Waste and Sustainable Materials Strategy and the NSW Plastics Plan 2.0.
This data creates a clear roadmap for targeted compliance and practical, on-ground solutions with councils and industry. It sets the benchmark for long-term monitoring and strengthens our ability to track trends, understand hotspots and take evidence-based steps to cut microplastics at the source.
Yes, this is NSW’s first baseline for microplastics and sets the foundation for long-term monitoring and management.
The results highlight the need for further work, and the EPA and DCCEEW are committed to undertaking further monitoring.
The most common types of microplastics are fragments (37%) and foam (37%). Plastic film (19%), artificial turf (5%) and pellets (2%) make up the remaining 26%.
Large microplastics 2-5mm in size make up 14%, medium particles 1-2mm in size make up 18% and small particles 0.25-1mm in size make up 68% of all samples.
We are focused on tackling this issue through compliance programs, industry partnerships and new policy reforms, such as the NSW Plastics Plan 2.0.
Foam packaging, pellets, and artificial turf are all traceable to sources of contamination. Targeted action on these materials alone has the potential to reduce larger microplastics in estuaries by up to 44%.
Film and fragments, which make up the remaining 56% of microplastics identified in the study, are more difficult to trace to a single source. To better understand these materials, further investigations will occur under the Streets to Sea Program in 2026.
Councils with high-priority waterways have been briefed by the EPA and DCCEEW on the findings before the report was published. We held briefings with every council that manages a sampled waterway listed in the report.
Industry has previously been engaged through Operation Clean Sweep and targeted plastic compliance programs. Further engagement with key industry and local government stakeholders will continue as future interventions roll out.
No, reducing microplastics is a shared responsibility across government, industry and communities.
Councils are responsible for managing these waterways, but they will be supported through compliance programs, grants, data sharing and technical guidance.
The study provides new insights to help councils and water managers identify the likely sources of microplastics in their catchments and take targeted action.
- NSW EPA – environmental regulation, research, litter prevention, industry compliance and policy
- DCCEEW – scientific research, environmental water management and monitoring.
- NSW Food Authority - food safety, including seafood
- NSW Health - public health advice on water quality.
Councils generally regulate spills into the environment unless the site has an EPA licence.
Councils oversee pollution of beaches, estuaries, creeks, rivers, lakes and stormwater systems.
The EPA regulates licensed facilities under environmental protection laws.
In 2025, the EPA awarded $331,103 to Ku-ring-gai council via the Local Government Waste Solutions Fund to identify sources of synthetic turf leakage and promote best practice management of synthetic turf on sporting fields. The project is a collaborative effort between Kur-ring-gai Council, Sydney Coastal Councils Group, and the Australian Microplastic Assessment Project (AUSMAP) and is expected to finish in mid-2027.
This Broadscale Microplastic Assessment will inform how we prioritise our efforts to manage the highest risk sources of microplastics entering the environment.
In June 2023, the NSW Chief Scientist and Engineer released a report on the design, use and impacts of synthetic turf in public open spaces. The report made a series of recommendations to minimise the environmental and health impacts of synthetic turf. The EPA contributed to a whole-of-government approach to implementing these recommendations, led by the NSW Department of Planning.
More information:
- EPA Synthetic turf used in sports fields
- Planning NSW Synthetic turf for sports fields
Assessment region (north to south)
- Northern Rivers
- North Coast
- Mid-North Coast
- Hunter-Central Coast
- Hawkesbury-Sydney
- Illawarra-Shoalhaven
- Eurobodalla
- Bega
Contact us
For more information, please contact us at [email protected]