Beaches litter

The floating debris and beach litter consists of many different materials that, tending to be non-degradable, endure in the marine environment for many years. 

Packaging waste from MS W and beach use About a third of the plastics resin produced globally ends up as plastic packaging of which less than 9% of waste in the MS W is recovered for recycling. Plastic litter on land can be transported to the oceans via storm drain runoff. Recreational use of beaches also results in beach litter that can be picked up by wind and tidal movements and transported into the water (Corcoran et al., 2009 Rosevelt et al., 2013 Ryan et al., 2009). Beach cleanup operations help reduce the litter but there is virtually no mechanism to collect such debris once they enter the water. 

Rosevelt C, Los Huertos M, Garza C, Nevins HM. Marine debris in central California Quantifying type and abundance of beach litter in Monterey Bay, CA. Mar Pollut Bull 2013 7 299-306. 

Microplastics floating in surface water may wash up on shorelines. Scientists have found microplasfics on sandy shores in six continents [124], including beaches in remote areas far from obvious sources [126]. However, no data quantifying the concentration of microbeads in beach litter were identified during the research for this book. 

Table 2.3 illustrates that the Philippines, Australia, and Spain have the highest concentrations of beach litter per mile on land and underwater. 

OSPAR (2007) OSPAR Pilot Project on Monitoring Marine Beach Litter Monitoring of Marine Litter on Beaches in the OSPAR Region, London OSPAR Commission. PlasticsEru ope (2008) The Compelling Facts About Plastics 2007 An Analysis of Plastics Production, Demand and Recovery in Europe, Brussels PlasticsEurope. 

Solutions to the solid waste disposal problems facing the world will include recycling, incineration, and land fill where feasible. However, in those instances where collection is prohibitive by expense, such as roadside and beach littering, photodegradation will remain a viable solution and E/CO will find additional applications, repeating its success as the material of choice for the degradable carriers for beverage cans. 

Figure 15.19 A beach littered with poly(alkene) plastic waste.

In the South Pacific, man-made debris was surveyed on 24 islands in the Thousand Island archipelago north of Java in 1985 (66). Polyethylene bags, footwear and polystyrene blocks comprised more than 90% of the 27,600 items. The main source of this debris is the dumping of rubbish and domestic and industrial waste directly into the sea at Jakarta. On New Zealand beaches, plastic litter was widely distributed and predominantly in the form of polyethylene and polypropylene beads. Near Auckland and Wellington concentrations exceeded 10,000 and 40,000 beads m of beach, and the unweathered appearance of the beads implied a nearby source (66). 

The problems posed by polymers in the environment are not solely, or even mainly, technical. Instead, they concern both politics and the behaviour of individuals within society. Litter, for example, is a social problem if specific individuals did not choose selfishly to discard their rubbish where they stood in the street, at the picnic site, or on the beach, there would be no litter. However, people do not behave for the common good but, sadly, generally favour the selfish option and such antisocial behaviour must be taken account of in any scheme for reducing the impact of polymers on the environment. 

The most common litter item are small pieces of plastics whose lengths are on the order of a few millimeters. An important component are thermoplastic resin pellets and beads that are raw materials, mostly polypropylene and polyethylene, intended for manufecture into commercial items. Loss during ship transport and stormwater runoff are major sources of the pellets and beads to the ocean. Densities of 3500 per km have been reported floating on the surfece in the Sargasso Sea. On the beaches of New Zealand located near industrialized areas, concentrations as high as 100,000 per km are now being observed. The pellets and beads are carried by currents until they are either... 

The effects of polluted waters on the proliferation and edibility of fishes and other forms of ocean life have been researched extensively in recent years, and this knowledge has created a vital incentive for reducing pollution. Just a few years ago lightweight refuse that rises to die ocean s surface and littered beaches created an environmental crisis and another incentive for ceasing ocean dumping of sewage and solid wastes into the oceans. 

The marine growth of dinoflagellates is characterized by occasional incidents in which they multiply at such an explosive rate that they color the water yellow, olive green, or red by their vast numbers. In 1946, some sections of the Florida coast became so afflicted by red tide that the water became viscous, and for many miles the beaches were littered with the remains of dead fish, shellfish, turtles, and other marine organisms. The sea spray in these areas became so irritating that coastal schools and resorts were closed. 

We buy these products, use them (sometimes for many years, sometimes for only a few seconds), and then look for a place to dispose of them. For some, the nearest roadside, public park, beach, or body of water works quite well. Fortunately, a combination of statutes, public initiatives, and education over the last 40 years or so has significantly reduced litter. 

Identifying the sources of most polymers is difficult because the point of entry is often diffuse, their fate being determined by the currents and their tracking being complex. Plastics are transported directly or indirectly to the sea by rivers and streams, by treated water, or dnring extreme events such as floods. The land-based litter includes widespread sources such as runoff, but also those related to economic activities such as tourism, industiy and urban and port activities. According to the French Ministry of the Enviromnent, beach users produce on average one liter of waste per person per day. Some are abandoned and quickly find themselves in the sand or in the sea. 

Some litter can be linked to a single source which permits being able to consider prevention measures and waste collection prior to its arrival at sea. The additional quantities of waste in the municipalities located near the beaches of the Mediterranean are estimated to be 10-15%, and the total volume of waste increases by 75% in summer. At a more local scale, plastic pellets lost in production and during transport or distribution become litter before even having been used by the plastics industry. 

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