Plastic debris dataset on the Seine riverbanks: up to 38 000 (1 kg) pre-production plastic pellets reported per square meter

Surface debris were collected with a metal trowel over a square of 1 m² within a historical accumulation zone of plastic debris. They were collected in one shot close to the Seine river mouth (North France; 49.46452, 0.43911), the 28th of february 2020. Plastic debris higher than 6 mm were sorted and classified using the updated international MSFD and OSPAR classifications, joined as the J-list. They were then counted, weighed and data were reported in a csv file. Those data help identifying historical plastic pollution and its sources for future mitigation policies.