Macroplastic Debris at 28 Urban Stormwater Ponds in London, Canada

138 quadrats measuring 20 m² each were surveyed around twenty-eight stormwater ponds in London, Canada, for macroplastic waste items (≥ 5 mm). Average item concentrations ranged from 1.7 to 40.0 per 20 m², with food packaging, household items, and leisure products being the most common types. The dataset, authored by Dinithi S. De Silva and last updated in March 2026, was analyzed using Poisson regression and hurdle models to investigate relationships with land use and pond-level factors.

Use Cases

• Modeling macroplastic abundance based on surrounding land use categories mentioned in the description.
• Identifying pollution hotspots based on the finding that debris concentrates near pond inlets and outlets.
• Analyzing the distribution of specific plastic product categories (e.g., smoking-related items, food packaging) across different urban zones.
• Informing municipal waste management strategies using statistically significant relationships between debris and source-specific inputs.

Strengths

• Provides specific concentration ranges (1.7 ± 1.2 to 40.0 ± 16.3 per 20 m²) and a clear sample size (138 quadrats).
• Identifies key influential factors (land use, proximity to inlets/outlets) through statistical modeling (Poisson regression, hurdle models).
• Categorizes debris by common applications (food/beverage packaging, household/garden, leisure/sports).

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Geographic scope is limited to a single city (London, Canada).

Provenance

Source

figshare, authored by Dinithi S. De Silva.

Collection Method

Field survey of 138 quadrats (20 m² each) surrounding twenty-eight stormwater ponds.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-17 13:05:37; freshness should be verified.

Geography

London, Canada.