Coastal dunes as a sink and secondary source of marine plastics: A study at Perran Beach, southwest England

Plastic food packaging and containers (n = 263) have been retrieved from the scarped foredunes at Perran SW England, following a storm surge. Samples displayed evidence of cracking, scratching, discolouration, staining and hydroxyl and carbonyl stretching, but legible text indicating their origin, dates of manufacture/expiration, packaging codes and logos, coupled with online product searches, allowed 25 food packets containers to be aged. Estimates of food packaging age spanned a 43-year period (1975-2018), with a age of 25 years, while estimates for containers spanned 57 years (1962-2019), with a median age of 19 Plastic derived from local littering and offshore sources appears to be trapped within the foredunes for years decades and subsequently released as "fresh" beach litter following surges sufficient to effect scarping. systems may act as significant reservoirs of historical plastics and play a critical role in their recycling retention in the coastal zone.