Plastic food packaging and containers (n = 263) have been retrieved from the scarped foredunes at Perran Beach, 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 and 87 containers to be aged. Estimates of food packaging age spanned a 43-year period (1975–2018), with a median age of 25 years, while estimates for containers spanned 57 years (1962–2019), with a median age of 19 years. Plastic derived from local littering and offshore sources appears to be trapped within the foredunes for years to decades and subsequently released as “fresh” beach litter following surges sufficient to effect scarping. Dunal systems may act as significant reservoirs of historical plastics and play a critical role in their recycling and retention in the coastal zone.

塑料食品包装和容器 ( n = 263) 是在风暴潮之后从英格兰西南部佩兰海滩的崎岖前滩中找到的。样品显示有开裂、划痕、变色、染色和羟基和羰基拉伸的迹象，但清晰的文字表明它们的来源、制造/到期日期、包装代码和标志，加上在线产品搜索，允许 25 个食品包和 87 个容器老了。对食品包装年龄的估计跨度为 43 年（1975-2018 年），中位年龄为 25 岁，而对容器的估计跨度为 57 年（1962-2019），中位年龄为 19 岁。来自当地垃圾和近海来源的塑料似乎被困在前滩中数年至数十年，随后在足以影响剥落的浪涌之后作为“新鲜”海滩垃圾释放。