Litter behaviour on Mediterranean cobble beaches, SE Spain

F Asensio-Montesinos; G Anfuso; A T Williams; C Sanz-Lázaro

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.113106

Litter behaviour on Mediterranean cobble beaches, SE Spain

Mar Pollut Bull. 2021 Dec;173(Pt B):113106. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.113106. Epub 2021 Oct 29.

Authors

F Asensio-Montesinos¹, G Anfuso², A T Williams³, C Sanz-Lázaro⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Marine and Environmental Sciences, University of Cádiz, Polígono Río San Pedro s/n, 11510 Puerto Real, Cádiz, Spain; Multidisciplinary Institute for Environmental Studies (MIES), University of Alicante, P.O. Box 99, E-03080 Alicante, Spain. Electronic address: francisco.asensio@uca.es.
² Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Marine and Environmental Sciences, University of Cádiz, Polígono Río San Pedro s/n, 11510 Puerto Real, Cádiz, Spain.
³ Faculty of Architecture, Computing and Engineering, University of Wales, Trinity Saint David, Swansea SA1 8EW, Wales, UK.
⁴ Multidisciplinary Institute for Environmental Studies (MIES), University of Alicante, P.O. Box 99, E-03080 Alicante, Spain; Department of Ecology, University of Alicante, PO Box 99, E-03080 Alicante, Spain.

PMID: 34744008
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.113106

Abstract

Despite the large research effort on reporting quantities of coastal litter, the dynamics of this litter is not yet sufficiently understood. Litter inputs in five cobble beaches located in the Mediterranean (Spain) were studied over three months during winter by biweekly litter tagging. Plastic represented the dominant material that reached the beaches (77%). In remote and narrow beaches, storms constituted the main driver in litter dynamics, favouring the accumulation of floating items such as plastic bottles and wood fragments as well as the largest but contrasting effects, increasing litter inputs and outputs from the beach, respectively. In rural beaches, beach users, mainly fisher people, but also tourists, contributed to a notable input of litter to the beach. Burial and exhumation of litter were reported as common occurring processes. Better management actions are required to improve beach environmental quality.

Keywords: Litter burial/exhumation; Marine debris; Plastic; Sea storms; Western Mediterranean.

MeSH terms

Bathing Beaches*
Environmental Monitoring
Humans
Plastics
Spain
Waste Products* / analysis

Substances

Plastics
Waste Products