From source to sink: A comparative study of streamside and beach litter in the Black Sea

• Published in: Waste management (Elmsford) 2023-04, Vol.161, p.1-9
• Main Authors: Erüz, Coşkun, Terzi, Yahya, Ismail, Neira Purwanty, Özşeker, Koray, Başkan, Nurettin, Karakoç, Fatma Telli
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Bathing Beaches; Beach litter; Black Sea; COVID-19; Environmental Monitoring; Humans; Pandemics; Plastic pollution; Plastics; Streamside litter; Waste Products - analysis
• ISSN: 0956-053X; 1879-2456
• DOI: 10.1016/j.wasman.2023.02.025

•No seasonal and spatial difference was determined in litter density.•Single use plastics were the most common litter type.•Streamside and beach litter composition was similar.•Personal protection equipment increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. The increasing amount of marine litter pollution and its impact on the marine environment raises global concern. This study aims to reveal the effect of streams on marine litter density and composition. A total of ten stations on the southeastern Black Sea and six stations on the Manahoz stream were seasonally surveyed. The litter density ranged between 0.838 ± 0.33 and 4.01 ± 0.55 items/m2 in the beach stations, and 0.93 ± 0.27 2.40 ± 2.18 items/m2 in the streamside stations. No significant difference was determined among the seasons for both beach and streamside (Kruskal-Wallis test, p > 0.05). On the other hand, the litter density was also similar in beach and streamside stations in the same season. The litter composition consisted of > 75% plastic. Principal component analysis and PERMANOVA determined no significant difference in litter composition among beach and streamside stations. The litter items mostly consisted of single-use items. Among them, plastic beverage containers were the most abundant litter subcategory during the study (ranging between 18.79% and 34.50%). The subcategory composition exhibited a significant difference among beach and streamside stations (ANOSIM, p