Beach Litter Variability According to the Number of Visitors in Cádiz Beaches, SW Spain

Abstract

The amount and composition of litter was evaluated during May and June 2021 at two urban beaches, i.e., La Victoria and La Cortadura, in Cádiz, SW Spain. Surveys were carried out daily in the morning and in the evening during the weekends to quantify the daily accumulation of beach litter and relate it to the number of beach users, which was assessed at around 1:00 p.m. Litter amount was also related to cleanup operations that were very mechanically and manually carried out each day very early in the morning. A total of 8108 items were collected at the two investigated sectors during the study period and beach visitors were quantified in 22 surveys. Plastic was the most common material, representing 82% in La Victoria and 68% in La Cortadura. The most common items were cigarette butts and small, hard plastic fragments. Some litter items that were hazardous to beach visitors were identified, such as broken glass. The number of visitors was positively related to the amount of litter. Significant differences were seen in the litter abundance between the morning and evening assessments since the beaches were cleaned daily and bins were available to facilitate trash disposal. Cleaning operations remove many of the litter items but always leave small quantities of small items uncollected. Efforts to prevent litter on these beaches should focus on informing visitors properly in order to avoid littering and on improving cleanup operations.

Keywords

• Andalusia
• beach users
• cigarette butts
• cleaning efforts
• coastal management
• plastic pollution