Beach Litter Assessment: Critical Issues and the Path Forward (original) (raw)

Marine anthropogenic litter on British beaches: A 10-year nationwide assessment using citizen science data

Growing evidence suggests that anthropogenic litter, particularly plastic, represents a highly pervasive and persistent threat to global marine ecosystems. Multinational research is progressing to characterise its sources, distribution and abundance so that interventions aimed at reducing future inputs and clearing extant litter can be developed. Citizen science projects, whereby members of the public gather information, offer a low-cost method of collecting large volumes of data with considerable temporal and spatial coverage. Furthermore, such projects raise awareness of environmental issues and can lead to positive changes in behaviours and attitudes. We present data collected over a decade (2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013)(2014) inclusive) by Marine Conservation Society (MCS) volunteers during beach litter surveys carried along the British coastline, with the aim of increasing knowledge on the composition, spatial distribution and temporal trends of coastal debris. Unlike many citizen science projects, the MCS beach litter survey programme gathers information on the number of volunteers, duration of surveys and distances covered. This comprehensive information provides an opportunity to standardise data for variation in sampling effort among surveys, enhancing the value of outputs and robustness of findings. We found that plastic is the main constituent of anthropogenic litter on British beaches and the majority of traceable items originate from landbased sources, such as public littering. We identify the coast of the Western English Channel and Celtic Sea as j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e : w w w . e l s e v i e r . c o m / l o c a t e / s c i t o t e n v experiencing the highest relative litter levels. Increasing trends over the 10-year time period were detected for a number of individual item categories, yet no statistically significant change in total (effort-corrected) litter was detected. We discuss the limitations of the dataset and make recommendations for future work. The study demonstrates the value of citizen science data in providing insights that would otherwise not be possible due to logistical and financial constraints of running government-funded sampling programmes on such large scales.

Qualitative and Quantitative Beach Cleanliness Assessment to Support Marine Litter Management in Tropical Destinations

Water, 2021

In addition to its ecological and recreational relevance, beach cleanliness is also one of the five most important aspects (i.e., the “Big Five”) for beach visitors around the world. Nonetheless, few efforts have been carried out to guide the sound management of this rising issue. This paper presents a quantitative and qualitative method to assess the level of beach cleanliness, in order to allow managers to focus their attention on the environmental management of the most frequent and relevant types of litter in tropical areas. In a first step, a survey on users’ perception was applied to 361 beachgoers in eight beaches in Colombia to identify the most relevant types of beach litter and the weighting factors to obtain quantitative calculations. In a second step, the thirteen categories of litter identified were analyzed in relation to beach cleanliness, origin of litter, and environmental impact, to define its individual weighting importance. Some categories were also selected acco...

Beach litter dynamics on Mediterranean coasts: Distinguishing sources and pathways

Marine pollution bulletin, 2018

We assessed amounts, composition and net accumulation rates every ~15days of beach macro litter (≥2.5cm) on 4 Mediterranean beaches, on Corfu island, N. Ionian Sea, taking into account natural and anthropogenic drivers. Average net accumulation rate on all beaches was found 142±115N/100m/15d. By applying a Generalized Linear Model (GzLM) it was shown that sea transport is the dominant pathway affecting the amount and variability in beach litter loadings. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) on compositional data and indicator items discerned two more pathways of beach litter, i.e. in situ litter from beach goers and wind and/or runoff transport of litter from land. By comparing the PCA results to those from a simple item to source attribution, it is shown that regardless their source litter items arrive at beaches from various pathways. Our data provide baseline knowledge for designing monitoring strategies and for setting management targets.

Anthropogenic litter on Brazilian beaches: Baseline, trends and recommendations for future approaches

Marine Pollution Bulletin, 2020

Beaches are fundamental habitats that regulate the functioning of several coastal processes and key areas contributing to national and local budgets. In this study we provide the first large-scale systematic survey of anthropogenic litter on Brazilian beaches, covering a total of 35 degrees of latitude, recording the litter type, its use and size. Plastic comprised the most abundant litter type, followed by cigarette butts and paper. Small pieces (< 5 cm) were dominant among litter size-classes and food-related use was associated to most litter recorded types. Generalized additive models showed that proximity to estuarine runoffs was the main driver to beach litter accumulation, reinforcing river drainages as the primary route of litter coastal pollution. Also, the Clean-Coast Index evidenced there was not a pattern of beach litter pollution among regions, which denotes that actions regarding marine pollution must be taken by all state governances of the country. The idea that plastics would become one of the principal environmental problems of the 21 st century is not new (Coleman and Wehle, 1984; Bergmann et al., 2015). It is already known that plastics are ubiquitous in the marine environment as they have been found in the most diverse habitats, from deepest oceans to intertidal areas (Mathalon and Hill, 2014; Chiba et al., 2018); and are pervading marine food chains, from tiny plankton communities to large shark predators (Sun et al., 2017; Barreto et al., 2019). Within this scenario, some habitats act as sinks for marine litter pollution. In oceanic waters, denser items tend to accumulate on the seabed (Woodall et al., 2014). Beaches on islands may also act as sinks for drifting litter in regions close to oceanic gyres (Lavers and Bond, 2017; Andrades et al., 2018b; Thiel et al., 2018), while nearshore habitats, such as mangroves and beaches, may accumulate floating litter (Munari et al., 2017; Martin et al., 2019). Beaches represent an important component of human society contributing to local and national economies through tourism and recreational activities (Silva et al., 2013), as well as providing ecological services such as erosion control and nutrient recycling, and habitats for commercial and threatened species (Schlacher et al., 2007; Defeo and McLachlan, 2018). The presence of litter on beaches can impact its natural features, as well as affect the local fauna and alter ecological processes, which can induce shifts in nutrient cycling across food chains

Seasonal comparison of beach litter on Mediterranean coastal sites (Alicante, SE Spain)

Ocean & Coastal Management, 2019

Presence of beach litter was assessed during spring and summer seasons 2018, at 56 sites along the coast of Alicante Province (SE Spain). Selected sites covered "remote" (9), "rural" (10) "village" (17) and "urban" (20) bathing areas. In an area of 201,700 m 2 , a total of 10,101 litter items (Avg: 0.062 items m-2) was counted in spring, and 20,857 (Avg: 0.116 items m-2) in summer. The most significant seasonal evolution was observed in the cigarette butt, group which increased from 4607 to 12843 units. Plastic represented the dominant material in both seasons (82.6 and 83.5% respectively). Litter items increased greatly during the summer season despite the increasing frequency of cleaning operations and were essentially related to beach users activities. Secondarily, beach litter was related to wastewater discharges and fishing activities. Beach litter management along investigated sites must be based on plans to reduce litter sources. For that, it is necessary to consider beach typology along with the seasonal influx of visitors to define the most appropriate management actions, not forgetting the implementation of environmental education, essential in schools and media.

Citizen scientists study beach litter along 12,000 km of the East Pacific coast: A baseline for the International Plastic Treaty

Anthropogenic Marine Litter (AML) accumulating on beaches causes damage to coastal ecosystems and high costs to local communities. Volunteers sampled AML on 130 beaches along the central and southern East Pacific coasts, with AML densities ranging from 0.46 to 2.26 items m − 2 in the different countries. AML composition was dominated by plastics and cigarette butts, the latter especially in Mexico and Chile. The accumulation of AML in the upper zones of the beaches and substantial proportions of cigarette butts, glass and metal pointed mainly to local sources. Statistical modelling of litter sources on continental beaches revealed that tourism, access and related infrastructure (e.g. parking lots) best explained AML densities, while plastic densities were also influenced by the distance from

Spatiotemporal variation in marine litter distribution along the Bulgarian Black Sea sandy beaches: amount, composition, plastic pollution, and cleanliness evaluation

2024

The threat of anthropogenic marine litter, particularly plastic pollution, to marine ecosystems and human health, has spurred mitigation initiatives and global scientific research. Following the Marine Strategy Framework Directive guidelines, this study evaluated marine litter distribution, cleanliness, and plastic pollution indices along Bulgarian Black Sea beaches in 2023. The survey integrates visual assessment, manual sampling, and drone mapping, distributing the beaches along the coastline to encompass a broader range, totaling 45, including 28 remote/natural, 10 semi-urban, and 7 urban beaches. Results indicate a 48% decrease in marine litter distribution on beaches from 1462 ± 147 items/100 m in 2021 to 753 ± 97 items/100 m in 2023, with Artificial polymer materials/plastic materials constituting 88.62% of the total litter amount. A comprehensive plastic macro litter pollution assessment was carried out along Bulgarian beaches using PAI for the first time. In 2023, the average cleanliness status of Bulgarian beaches was classified as "moderate" (CCI: 7.61 ± 1.00), with clean northern and central beaches contrasting with dirty southern beaches. Urbanized beaches were assessed with the highest level of pollution (PAI AV,23 : 5.51; CCI AV,23 : 18.16). In the long term, cleanliness and plastic pollution maintain "moderate" values with CCI AV,18-23 : 8.81 ± 0.89, and PAI AV,18-23 : 2.35 ± 0.32, persisting throughout the period, necessitating ongoing monitoring and intervention strategies. Despite identifying a significant number of clean beaches, none meet the EU threshold value of 20 litter items/100 m. This study highlights the urgent need for effective interventions to combat litter accumulation and plastic pollution, particularly in urban or semi-urban beaches, emphasizing multi-stakeholder collaboration for sustainable solutions and coastal ecosystem preservation.

Persistent marine litter: small plastics and cigarette butts remain on beaches after organized beach cleanups

Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 2018

Cyprus is an island country in the Eastern Mediterranean whose economy is largely dependent on coastal tourism. It boasts some of the cleanest waters in Europe and has the largest number of Blue Flag awarded beaches per capita in the world. These beaches are managed by local authorities and are regularly cleaned, throughout the year, at least once per day. This paper presents findings from cleanups that were organized over the summers of 2016 and 2017 on nine Blue Flag beaches around the island of Cyprus, after the beaches were cleaned by the responsible authorities. The aim was to answer the following questions: 'Are regular beach cleanups by local authorities efficient?' and 'What is left on a Bclean^beach?' The results suggest that local authority cleanup efforts are quite successful at collecting larger pieces of marine litter, leaving the beach seemingly clean. However, small pieces of litter, such as cigarette butts and small pieces of plastic items related to recreational activities, remain on the beach. They likely accumulate or are buried over time, with some items becoming a nuisance to beach goers and a potential source of marine litter.