Although India is one of the major plastic-waste-generating countries, few studies have been conducted on microplastics (MPs) in freshwater systems that are key contributors to oceans. The current study explores MPs in sediments and water that were collected at five major cities across the Ganga River. MPs number and mass density range in sediment were found to be 17 to 36 items/kg dry weight (d.w.) and 10 to 45 mg/kg d.w. of sediments, respectively, while in the water sample, they were 380 to 684 items/1000 m³ and 143 to 340 mg/1000 m³, respectively. Overall, white color and film-shaped MPs were the major contributors in all samples. MPs of 2.5–5 mm size contributed to a greater number and mass as compared to other fractions. Polyethylene was found to be a widely distributed plastic-type reflecting its high usability.

尽管印度是主要的塑料废物产生国，但很少对淡水系统中的微塑料（MPs）进行研究，而这些都是造成海洋污染的主要因素。当前的研究探索了横跨恒河五个主要城市的沉积物和水中的MP。沉积物中的MP数和质量密度范围分别为17至36个/千克干重（dw）和10至45 mg / kg dw沉积物，而在水样中，它们为380至684个/ 1000 m ³和143至340 mg / 1000 m ³， 分别。总体而言，白色和薄膜状MP都是所有样品中的主要成分。与其他级分相比，MP的大小为2.5-5 mm有助于更大的数量和质量。发现聚乙烯是广泛分布的塑料类型，这反映了其高可用性。