Microplastics in beach sediments and cockles (Anadara antiquata) along the Tanzanian coastline

Little is known about the prevalence of microplastics (MPs) in East Africa. In the present study, sediments were sampled at 18 sites along the Tanzanian coast that exhibit different levels of anthropogenic activity and were extracted using floatation methodology. Cockles (Anadara antiquata) were collected only from eight sites and MPs were extracted following NaOH digestion. MPs were most abundant at Mtoni Kijichi Creek (MKC, 2972 ± 238 particles kg−1 dry sediment), an industrial port in Dar es Salaam, and significantly higher than all other sites where the abundance range was 15–214 particles kg−1 dry sediment (p