Understanding allochthonous marine litter in a Protected Area in the Amazon Coast

Luciane Ferreira da Silva Assis; Luci Cajueiro Carneiro Pereira; Jose A Jimenez; Brenda Ribeiro Padilha da Silva; Remo Marinho da Costa Pereira; Rauquírio Marinho da Costa

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115548

Understanding allochthonous marine litter in a Protected Area in the Amazon Coast

Mar Pollut Bull. 2023 Oct:195:115548. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115548. Epub 2023 Sep 22.

Authors

Luciane Ferreira da Silva Assis¹, Luci Cajueiro Carneiro Pereira², Jose A Jimenez³, Brenda Ribeiro Padilha da Silva¹, Remo Marinho da Costa Pereira⁴, Rauquírio Marinho da Costa⁵

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory of Coastal and Estuarine Oceanography, Institute of Coastal Studies Universidade Federal do Pará, Alameda Leandro Ribeiro sn, Aldeia, 68600-000 Braganca, Pará, Brazil.
² Laboratory of Coastal and Estuarine Oceanography, Institute of Coastal Studies Universidade Federal do Pará, Alameda Leandro Ribeiro sn, Aldeia, 68600-000 Braganca, Pará, Brazil. Electronic address: cajueiro@ufpa.br.
³ Laboratori d'Enginyeria Marítima, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya·BarcelonaTech, c/Jordi Girona 1-3, 08034 Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: jose.jimenez@upc.edu.
⁴ Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya·Barcelona Tech, c/Jordi Girona 1-3, 08034 Barcelona, Spain.
⁵ Laboratory of Plankton and Microalge Cultivation, Institute of Coastal Studies Universidade Federal do Pará, Alameda Leandro Ribeiro sn, Aldeia, 68600-000 Braganca, Pará, Brazil. Electronic address: raucosta@ufpa.br.

PMID: 37742514
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115548

Abstract

Studies on international waste on the Amazon coast are lacking, leaving a substantial knowledge gap concerning the socioeconomic, cultural, and environmental repercussion of this issue. In this context, the objective of this study is to comprehensively characterize and trace the origins of allochthonous litter discovered on a beach situated within a Protected Area. Given this, the hypothesis of this study is that the international litters comes from vessels operating in the region. A total of 384 containers were collected, originating from 36 countries, with those located in Asia and Africa showing the highest prevalence. Among the bottles with identified expiration dates, 76 % are newly arrived, confirming our hypothesis. The presence of older waste may result from a combination of the absence of beach cleaning public services and local dynamic processes. While international engagement is necessary, local communities, along with the scientific community, have taken proactive measures to address the problem.

Keywords: Beach; Illegal dumping; International waste; Plastic bottles; Remote area; Shipping-related litter.