Plastic pellets on the coast of Lebanon

The occurrence of plastic pellets along the coast of Lebanon is being reported for the first time. Although a variety of colours, shapes, and sizes was observed, most pellets seemed to be either an opaque-white or transparentamber colour, cylindrical to oval or round, and 2–5 mm in diameter. A random sampling was taken and the results of thermal analysis showed the pellets to be of either high density polyethylene (opaque-white pellets), polymethyl methacrylate (transparent), or polystyrene (amber).The presence of these pellets is most likely due to waste disposal by the numerous plastics ‘factories’ in the country, or possibly, cargo-loss during sea transport of raw plastics materials.