Macroplastic Debris in 28 Urban Stormwater Ponds in London, Canada

138 quadrats surrounding twenty-eight stormwater ponds in London, Canada, were surveyed for macroplastic waste items. Average item concentrations varied from 1.7 to 40.0 per 20 m², with food packaging, household items, and leisure products being the most common types. The dataset, created by Dinithi S. De Silva and last updated in March 2026, uses statistical models to link debris abundance to land use and pond-level factors.

Use Cases

• Modeling the relationship between land use and plastic debris types based on the study's statistical findings.
• Analyzing spatial distribution of litter within stormwater infrastructure based on proximity to inlets and outlets.
• Identifying source-specific pollution patterns, such as smoking-related items near construction and commercial areas.
• Informing public education campaigns on single-use and multilayered plastic products based on the documented debris composition.

Strengths

• Includes data from 138 surveyed quadrats across 28 distinct stormwater ponds.
• Provides specific concentration ranges, from 1.7 ± 1.2 to 40.0 ± 16.3 items per 20 m².
• Categorizes debris by application (e.g., food packaging, household, leisure).

Limitations

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

Provenance

Source

Dinithi S. De Silva via figshare

Collection Method

Field survey of 20 m² quadrats around stormwater ponds, analyzed with Poisson regression and hurdle models.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-17 13:05:36

Geography

London, Canada