Spatiotemporal variability of solid waste on sandy beaches with different access restrictions

Intense human use and high construction density in coastal areas are stressors to sandy beaches. Pollution by marine debris is a major problem on beaches worldwide. This study pioneered an assessment of marine debris characterization over time on beaches with different levels of access. In two periods and seasons, marine debris was sampled on nine sandy beaches of Rio de Janeiro, grouped by levels of access. The general marine debris density has decreased over time, accompanied by an improvement in public cleaning mechanisms. The most important predictor for the majority of marine debris items is related to accessibility; beaches with restricted access showed a reduction in the abundance of most items. High marine debris densities, even on beaches with restricted access, showed that all evaluated beaches can be sinks for marine debris circulating in marine waters. Beach cleaning strategy improvements will be inefficient unless integrated marine debris management is implemented.

Automated summary

The study found that with the improvement of public cleaning mechanisms, the marine debris density on coastal beaches has decreased, while beaches with restricted access have shown a reduction in the majority of items; high marine debris densities indicate that all beaches evaluated can be sinks for marine debris circulating in marine waters.