Distribution and Composition of Beach Litter along the Ionian Coastline of Albania

Abstract

This paper deals with beach litter presence on the Ionian coast of Albania, i.e., at Vlora Bay and the Albanian Riviera, which is the most famous coastal tourist destination in the country. Along 16 beaches surveyed in November–December 2022 was found a total amount of 6621 litter items (or 416 kg) belonging to 114 categories of the EU J−code list. Most of these were plastic fragments and items (82%), mainly linked to local tourist activities. Wastewaters were responsible for bringing different litter items to the urban beaches of Vlora Bay. The most commonly observed litter items were cigarette butts, plastic caps/lids, and medium-sized plastic fragments of non-foamed plastic. The cleanest beaches, quite often, were the ones where beach clubs implemented clean-up programs during and at the end of the summer season. The results of this paper constitute a baseline of the beach litter amount and content along the study coast, which has never been investigated before. Municipalities and beach clubs have to implement more frequent and efficient clean-up activities and educational initiatives to reduce beach pollution, with special attention paid to the presence of cigarette butts and other small plastic items.