Marine litter and public involvement in beach cleaning: Disentangling perception and awareness among adults and children, Bay of Biscay, Spain

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 river mouths and national Gross Domestic Product. Large-scale monitoring can be a useful tool to evaluate the effectiveness of public policies that should primarily focus on land sources.

Impact of the citizen science project COLLECT on ocean literacy and well-being within a north/west African and south-east Asian context

Plastic pollution is both a societal and environmental problem and citizen science has shown to be a useful tool to engage both the public and professionals in addressing it. However, knowledge on the educational and behavioral impacts of citizen science projects focusing on marine litter remains limited. Our preregistered study investigates the impact of the citizen science project Citizen Observation of Local Litter in coastal ECosysTems (COLLECT) on the participants' ocean literacy, pro-environmental intentions and attitudes, well-being, and nature connectedness, using a pretest-posttest design. A total of 410 secondary school students from seven countries, in Africa (Benin, Cabo Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Morocco, Nigeria) and Asia (Malaysia) were trained to sample plastics on sandy beaches and to analyze their collection in the classroom. Non-parametric statistical tests (n = 239 matched participants) demonstrate that the COLLECT project positively impacted ocean literacy (i.e., awareness and knowledge of marine litter, self-reported litter-reducing behaviors, attitudes towards beach litter removal). The COLLECT project also led to higher pro-environmental behavioral intentions for students in Benin and Ghana (implying a positive spillover effect) and higher well-being and nature connectedness for students in Benin. Results are interpreted in consideration of a high baseline in awareness and attitudes towards marine litter, a low internal consistency of pro-environmental attitudes, the cultural context of the participating countries, and the unique settings of the project's implementation. Our study highlights the benefits and challenges of understanding how citizen science impacts the perceptions and behaviors towards marine litter in youth from the respective regions.

Anthropogenic litter in terrestrial flora and fauna: Is the situation as bad as in the ocean? A field study in Southern Germany on five meadows and 150 ruminants in comparison with marine debris

In contrast to the abundance of research on marine debris, terrestrial anthropogenic litter and its impacts are largely lacking scientific attention. Therefore, the main objective of the present study is to find out whether ingested litter produces pathological consequences to the health of domestic ruminants, as it does in their relatives in the ocean, the cetaceans. For this purpose, five meadows (49°18'N, 10°24'E) with a total survey area of 139,050 m² as well as the gastric content of 100 slaughtered cattle and 50 slaughtered sheep have been examined for persistent man-made debris in Northern Bavaria, Germany. All the five meadows contained garbage, and plastics were always part of it. Including glass and metal, 521 persistent anthropogenic objects were detected altogether, equalling a litter density of 3747 items per km². Of the examined animals, 30.0% of the cattle and 6.0% of the sheep harboured anthropogenic foreign bodies in their gastric tract. As in the case of cetaceans, plastics were the most dominant litter material. Bezoars had formed around plastic fibres of agricultural origin in two young bulls, whereas pointed metal objects were associated in cattle with traumatic lesions in the reticulum and the tongue. Of all the ingested anthropogenic debris, 24 items (26.4%) had direct equivalents in the studied meadows. Comparing with marine litter, 28 items (30.8%) were also present in marine environments and 27 items (29.7%) were previously reported as foreign bodies in marine animals. At least in this study region, waste pollution affected terrestrial environments and domestic animals, with clear equivalents in the marine world. Ingested foreign bodies produced lesions that may have reduced the animals' welfare and, regarding commercial purposes, their productivity.

Bottle with a message: The role of story writing as an engagement tool to explore children's perceptions of marine plastic litter

As human behaviors play a crucial role in addressing the global threat of plastic pollution, it is vital to understand perceptions about marine plastic litter (MPL) and to develop interventions encouraging pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs). This study evaluates story writing as a window to explore perceptions and as an engagement activity to boost PEBs. During the COVID-19 lockdowns, schoolchildren from the East Pacific coast participated in this activity, each creating a story and answering a pre-post survey. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of 81 stories and 79 surveys show awareness of sources and impacts. Participants identified land and local pollution as significant contributors to MPL and emphasized bio-ecological impacts, reflecting concern for landscape and wildlife. While the stories presented a diversity of solutions, recycling dominated the surveys. As participants reported an increase in self-assessed knowledge and improved PEBs after this activity, it can be seen as an engagement tool to encourage behavior change.

Willingness to pay for cleaning up beach litter: A meta-analysis

At the global level, the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goal 14 calls for action to significantly reduce marine litter pollution by 2025. To understand the non-market benefits of removing marine litter, researchers have conducted numerous studies on Willingness to Pay (WTP) for reductions in beach litter. This paper estimates the overall effect size of WTP for a worldwide dataset of 63 primary studies over 22 years by applying a meta-regression technique to assess the variability in WTP estimates. The results show an annual mean effect size of $US0.71 (or $US35.29) per person for a 1 % (for a corresponding 50 %) reduction in all types of beach litter. The observed heterogeneity is associated with WTP elicitation methods, beach attributes, geographic locations, and per-capita income. This study yields valuable information for policy makers to develop cost-effective policies and recommends standardised measurements to benchmark changes in marine litter pollution.

Deposition rates and residence time of litter varies among beaches in the Lofoten archipelago, Norway

A considerable portion of marine litter pollutes the world's coastlines. Its accumulation on beaches represents the product of deposition and retention, processes which are not well understood. A mark-recapture study was performed with a two-week sampling interval at three sites in Lofoten, Norway. Deposition and retention vary over relatively small spatial scales (approx. 13 km radius). No correlation was found among sites in the timing of high and low deposition events, suggesting these are governed by local factors. Contrastingly, the correlation in the timing of high and low retention events was generally stronger among sites, suggesting these may be affected by regional factors. The results underline the importance of customising cleanup frequency for different beaches as spatiotemporal variation in the relative importance of deposition and retention dictate the optimal frequency for maximal removal of litter from circulation in the local marine environment, which cannot be discerned from accumulation (i.e., standing stock) alone.

Oceans and society: feedbacks between ocean and human health

The concentration of human population along coastlines has far-reaching effects on ocean and societal health. The oceans provide benefits to humans such as food, coastal protection and improved mental well-being, but can also impact negatively via natural disasters. At the same time, humans influence ocean health, for example, via coastal development or through environmental stewardship. Given the strong feedbacks between ocean and human health there is a need to promote desirable interactions, while minimising undesirable interactions. To this end, we articulate two scenarios for 2030. First, Business-as-Usual, named 'Command and (out of) Control', focuses on the anticipated future based on our current trajectory. Second, a more sustainable scenario called 'Living and Connecting', emphasises the development of interactions between oceans and society consistent with achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. We describe a potential pathway to achieving the 'Living and Connecting' scenario, centred on improving marine citizenship, achieving a more equitable distribution of power among stakeholders, and more equitable access to resources and opportunities. The constituent actions of this pathway can be categorised into four groups: (i) improved approaches to science and health communication that account for society's diverse values, beliefs and worldviews, (ii) a shift towards more trusted relationships among stakeholders to enable two-way knowledge exchange, (iii) economic incentives that encourage behavioural changes necessary for achieving desired sustainability outcomes, and (iv) stronger regulations that simultaneously focus on ocean and human health. We contend that these changes will provide improved outcomes for both oceans and society over the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11160-021-09669-5.

Oceans and society: feedbacks between ocean and human health

The concentration of human population along coastlines has far-reaching effects on ocean and societal health. The oceans provide benefits to humans such as food, coastal protection and improved mental well-being, but can also impact negatively via natural disasters. At the same time, humans influence ocean health, for example, via coastal development or through environmental stewardship. Given the strong feedbacks between ocean and human health there is a need to promote desirable interactions, while minimising undesirable interactions. To this end, we articulate two scenarios for 2030. First, Business-as-Usual, named 'Command and (out of) Control', focuses on the anticipated future based on our current trajectory. Second, a more sustainable scenario called 'Living and Connecting', emphasises the development of interactions between oceans and society consistent with achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. We describe a potential pathway to achieving the 'Living and Connecting' scenario, centred on improving marine citizenship, achieving a more equitable distribution of power among stakeholders, and more equitable access to resources and opportunities. The constituent actions of this pathway can be categorised into four groups: (i) improved approaches to science and health communication that account for society's diverse values, beliefs and worldviews, (ii) a shift towards more trusted relationships among stakeholders to enable two-way knowledge exchange, (iii) economic incentives that encourage behavioural changes necessary for achieving desired sustainability outcomes, and (iv) stronger regulations that simultaneously focus on ocean and human health. We contend that these changes will provide improved outcomes for both oceans and society over the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11160-021-09669-5.

Tourists' perception of beach litter and willingness to participate in beach clean-up

While tourists contribute to and suffer the consequences of beach litter, studies on beach clean-up exercises have mostly neglected them and overly focused on resident beach goers. Based on a sample of 685 international tourists in Ghana, this paper examines the perception of international tourists on beach litter and the determinants of their willingness to participate in beach clean-up as an experiential activity during their visits to Ghanaian beaches. The findings reveal that international tourists have negative perceptions of beach litter, constructed along four domains, namely health, recreational activity participation, aesthetic, and coastal environment. Further, sex, age, educational attainment, continent of origin, travel party status, environmental value, and perception of beach litter significantly influence the willingness of the tourists to participate in beach clean-ups. The implications of these findings in the context of beach litter management at coastal resorts and destinations are discussed.

Marine plastic litter: public perceptions and opinions in Italy

Understanding public perceptions, opinions and knowledge about marine plastic litter issue is a critical step in effectively engaging society and changing human behaviour in order to reduce litter inputs. The study performs a segmentation analysis that jointly considers opinions about sources and impacts of a sample of 605 Italians with a twofold objective: i. to identify homogeneous segments of people according to the importance they attach to different sources and impacts of plastic litter; ii. to understand if behavioural aspects and personal characteristics emerged for each cluster of people. Gender, education and living areas significantly affect respondents' opinions, knowledge and behaviour. A high level of awareness and concern emerged. Four clusters- "the silent majority", "the least concerned and involved", "the little conscious of litter sources", and "the most severe and committed"-, reveal the heterogeneity of people's profiles. Policy implications in terms of knowledge, education and behaviour for reducing marine plastic pollution are discussed.

The impact of tourism on marine litter pollution on Santa Marta beaches, Colombian Caribbean

Tourism is an important socioeconomic activity in coastal communities, which deteriorates marine-coastal ecosystem quality when poorly managed, increasing litter pollution on beaches during the main tourist seasons. This study aims to assess the tourism impact on litter pollution on eleven Santa Marta beaches, Colombian Caribbean. During high and low tourist seasons, people on the beaches were counted, macrolitter and microplastics were sampled, and perception surveys about litter on beaches were conducted. During the high tourist season, the number of people and macrolitter pollution increased, compared to the low tourist season. Plastics accounted for 30%-77% of macrolitter and microplastics ranged from 1 to 355 items/m². Respondents identified tourism as a main litter source and plastics as the most common litter type. All assessed beaches are impacted by tourism causing litter pollution, therefore, stronger controls, educational, and awareness strategies are needed to reduce litter pollution and prevent ecological and socioeconomic impacts.

Magnitudes and tourist perception of marine debris on small tourism island: Assessment of Tidung Island, Jakarta, Indonesia

The sources of marine debris (MD) on a small island are largely dependent on the activities on and around the island, one of which is tourism. In this study, the magnitude and tourists' perceptions of MD on a small tourism island (Tidung Islands, Jakarta, Indonesia) were assessed. The results indicated that the tourism is one of the largest waste-generating sources. Plastic waste formed the major proportion of the solid waste, accounting for 83.86% of the total. The unmanaged tourism waste led to a clean-coastal index corresponding to the category "extremely dirty" and decreasing visitors' acceptance index. The resulting conditions will make the tourism unsustainable. In tourism, waste management should be focused on, including prevention and collaborative actions with residents and tourism actors. In addition, the tourist awareness campaigns must be conducted prior to tourist-visitation on the island.

"Who wants to join?" Visitors' willingness to participate in beach litter clean-ups in Nigeria

Public involvement in beach litter clean-ups can help tackle marine litter while providing experiential learning, raising awareness and stimulating anti-litter behaviour. Beach visitors contribute to litter generation by inappropriate discarding behaviour, and engaging them in litter removal can be beneficial. This study assessed visitors' (N = 512) stated willingness to participate in litter clean-ups at Elegushi Royal Beach, Nigeria, which is under pressure from litter problems visitors contribute to, and potentially emblematic of organised litter clean-ups. Beach visitors recognised marine litter as a global and national problem but did not perceive the case study beach as being littered. Willingness to participate in beach litter clean-ups was marginal. However, it was positively correlated with previous participation in litter clean-ups, perceived collective responsibility and the importance of policy and investments in reducing litter. These results were used to propose a framework to engage and recruit visitors in beach litter removal campaigns.

Macro litter distribution of the Turkish Mediterranean coasts dominated by pleasure crafts

Litters are the most pollutants in progress of the interests in marine environments. Macro litter samples were collected from 66 stations to estimate litter contribution from pleasure crafts along bays of the most Turkish touristic coasts (Antalya-Muğla) by the divers in June/July 2019. Average abundance and weight were 19 items/km² and 18 kg/km², respectively. The most abundant litter was plastics and the most contributors in weight were metals, followed by glass/ceramics. Abundance of the litters increased with number of pleasure crafts in active in summer. Pleasure crafts contributed most abundantly with the personal wares to the total litter, particularly in the coasts of Muğla. Litters were differentiated with interaction of region × bottom depths. The litter composition and abundance were different between region of Antalya in active mostly by tour boats and region of Muğla by private yachts. The litter types were however correlated with sea surface temperature.

The Social Costs of Marine Litter along the East China Sea: Evidence from Ten Coastal Scenic Spots of Zhejiang Province, China

Marine litter poses numerous threats to the global environment. To estimate the social costs of marine litter in China, two stated preference methods, namely the contingent valuation model (CVM) and the choice experiment model (CEM), were used in this research. This paper conducted surveys at ten different beaches along the East China Sea in Zhejiang province in October 2017. The results indicate that approximately 74.1% of the interviewees are willing to volunteer to participate in clean-up programmes and are willing to spend 1.5 days per month on average in their daily lives, which equates to a potential loss of income of USD 1.08 per day. The willingness to pay for the removal of the main types of litter ranges from USD 0.12–0.20 per visitor across the four sample cities, which is mainly determined by the degree of the removal, the crowdedness of the beach and the visitor’s perception. The social costs are USD 1.08–1.40 per visitor when the contingent valuation method is applied and USD 1.00–1.07 per visitor when the choice experiment method is adopted, which accounts for 8–14% of the beach entrance fee. The analysis of the social costs of marine litter yielded some useful implications regarding future coastal management policy, including extra entrance fee, the quality-oriented environmental strategy and more incentives to volunteers.