RT journal article
T1 Beach Litter Variability According to the Number of Visitors in Cádiz Beaches, SW Spain
A1 Fernández García, Gonzalo
A1 Asensio Montesinos, Francisco
A1 Anfuso Melfi, Giorgio
A1 Arenas Granados, Pedro Jesús
A2 Ciencias de la Tierra
A2 HistoriaGeografía y Filosofía
K1 Andalusia
K1 beach users
K1 cigarette butts
K1 cleaning efforts
K1 coastal management
K1 plastic pollution
K1 3S tourism
AB The amount and composition of litter was evaluated during May and June 2021 at twourban beaches, i.e., La Victoria and La Cortadura, in Cádiz, SW Spain. Surveys were carried outdaily in the morning and in the evening during the weekends to quantify the daily accumulation ofbeach litter and relate it to the number of beach users, which was assessed at around 1:00 p.m. Litteramount was also related to cleanup operations that were very mechanically and manually carriedout each day very early in the morning. A total of 8108 items were collected at the two investigatedsectors during the study period and beach visitors were quantified in 22 surveys. Plastic was the mostcommon material, representing 82% in La Victoria and 68% in La Cortadura. The most common itemswere cigarette butts and small, hard plastic fragments. Some litter items that were hazardous to beachvisitors were identified, such as broken glass. The number of visitors was positively related to theamount of litter. Significant differences were seen in the litter abundance between the morning andevening assessments since the beaches were cleaned daily and bins were available to facilitate trashdisposal. Cleaning operations remove many of the litter items but always leave small quantities ofsmall items uncollected. Efforts to prevent litter on these beaches should focus on informing visitorsproperly in order to avoid littering and on improving cleanup operations.
PB MDPI
SN 2077-1312
YR 2024
FD 2024
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10498/32853
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10498/32853
LA eng
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Cádiz
RD 06-nov-2026