Legambiente, on 13 monitored Campania beaches, 827 pieces of waste were recorded every 100 meters. The data are worrying
The waste data are worrying: an average of 827 pieces of waste were recorded every 100 meters of beach, of which 80% is made up of plastic and 62% is represented by disposable objects, some of which are banned by the SUP Directive (cotton buds, straws and cocktail stirrers, food containers for immediate consumption and take-away)
Spiagge Pulite returns on the weekend of May 13-15
Legambiente's initiative to clean beaches and seabeds from beached waste
Over 8 pieces of waste of all kinds for every linear meter of beach. Waste continues to be an unwanted guest on our coasts. In the 13 beaches in the provinces of Caserta, Naples and Salerno, a total of 10.752 pieces of waste were recorded in a total area of 43.900 square meters.
An average of 827 pieces of waste every 100 metres of beach (8 pieces of waste every step) which largely exceeds the threshold value established at European level to consider a beach in good environmental condition, i.e. less than 20 pieces of waste abandoned every 100 linear metres of coast.
Plastic is confirmed to be, once again, the most common material found, as much as 80% of the objects found (8.655 out of a total of 10.752) while as much as 62% of all the waste monitored in the survey concerns disposable products, some of which are at the centre of the European directive that bans and limits single-use plastic objects, to which a special focus is dedicated.
The new data from the Beach Litter 2022 survey, carried out by the Campania branches of Legambiente and which the environmental association is launching in view of the Spiagge e Fondali Puliti weekend from 13 to 15 May, also speak clearly. “Let's take back the beach!” is the slogan of this year's edition of Legambiente's historic campaign dedicated to monitoring and cleaning up waste abandoned along the coasts of the Peninsula, which sees dozens of initiatives in Campania involving institutions, schools, municipalities and associations.
Among the many initiatives scheduled on May 13th, cleaning in Torre del Greco organized with the schools while on Sunday May 15th the Legambiente Bacoli club organizes together with the Rotary Club Campania a cleaning of the Marina Grande beach of Bacoli as part of the Youth for Climate project while in Salerno, Legambiente volunteers together with employees of the Centrale del Latte will clean the beach of Lungomare Marconi at the height of the Bar Marconi; on this occasion, Centrale del Latte di Salerno will offer a breakfast and gadgets to the participants. Water-trekking initiative to rediscover the link between the waterways and the territory of Montoro in the Avellino area.
Not just waste collection. The environmental association offers a clear picture of the emergency of waste abandoned on the beaches thanks to the Beach Litter survey, one of the largest citizen science campaigns of the environmental association based on an official protocol of sampling and cataloging of waste applied on all the beaches investigated by the local Legambiente Campania Clubs that participated in the initiative: the data of the survey present today and collected on 13 beaches in the provinces of Caserta, Naples and Salerno speak clearly.
A total of 10.752 pieces of waste were recorded in a total area of 43.900 m827. An average of 100 pieces of waste every 8 meters of beach (20 pieces of waste every step) which largely exceeds the threshold value established at European level to consider a beach in good environmental condition, i.e. less than 100 pieces of waste abandoned every 2.770 linear meters of coast. Among the beaches investigated, the highest number of beached waste was found on the beach at the mouth of the Garigliano in the municipality of Sessa Aurunca (CE) with 25,8 (equal to 2.435% of the total) followed by the Monachelle beach in the municipality of Pozzuoli (NA) with 22,6 (1.043%) and the Spiaggia Libera in Vietri sul Mare (SA) with 9,7 (equal to XNUMX% of the total).
Plastic is confirmed to be, once again, the most common material found, as much as 80% of the objects found (8.655 out of 10.752 total), followed by 1.082 metal objects (10%), 341 glass/ceramics (3,2%) and 320 paper/cardboard (3%). Furthermore, as much as 62% of all waste monitored in the survey concerns disposable products, some of which are at the center of the European directive that prohibits and limits single-use plastic objects, to which a special focus is dedicated.
Beach Litter 2022: Top Ten Beached Litter. About two-thirds of the total litter found (62% of the total) is represented by just 10 types of objects (out of 175 total categories).
In first place are plastic objects and fragments with a size between 2,5 and 50 cm (13,2% of the total), followed by plastic bottles and containers for drinks (8%), plastic caps and lids (7,9%) and disposable tableware (7,1%). Then come the timeless cigarette butts (6,9%) and pieces of polystyrene (size 2,5-50cm) equal to 6,6%.
And still a lot of plastic cotton buds with 4,7% of the total, objects and fragments in expanded plastic (not polystyrene) with 4,5% and other plastic bottles and containers” (1,9%) close the ranking, cans (drinks) with 0,3%.
“Plastic pollution in the sea and on beaches – declares Francesca Ferro, regional director of Legambiente – remains, together with the climate emergency, the other major environmental issue to be addressed with targeted interventions and policies, keeping attention high on the topic. For this reason, this year's edition is particularly important given that 2022 began with the implementation in Italy of the European SUP (Single Use Plastics) directive.
A result that we have worked hard on and that undoubtedly represents a positive signal, in response to the SOS that our beaches are sending us, also with this year's monitoring.
Disposable plastic, as confirmed by the Beach Litter 2022 survey, remains among the main causes of pollution at sea and a threat to the marine ecosystem. The commitment must now be to continue in this direction, and work on raising awareness among people and on the management and recycling of waste, otherwise the ban alone will not be enough. It is necessary to implement measures to combat plastic and floating waste to protect the beauty of our territories, spread responsible and aware citizenship and encourage sustainable tourism.”
Beach Litter 2022: the European SUP Directive. The European SUP directive provides for the reduction of some single-use plastic objects, the ban on the production and placing on the market of a series of single-use plastic products and the obligation to mark permitted products made of single-use plastic. Single-use plastic products represent 62% of the waste most found on Campania beaches during the beach litter campaign.
Among those that hold the record for the most common on the beaches, in first place we find plastic bottles and containers (including caps and rings) found 1.706 times on the beaches monitored by the volunteers of the green swan where the greatest number was found on the Foce del Garigliano beach, in the municipality of Sessa Aurunca with 510 findings followed by glasses, straws, cutlery and plates with 766 waste items and cigarette butts 737 in total of which 231 were found on the free beach of Vietri sul Mare.
And again the cotton buds for cleaning ears 508 findings of which 285 catalogued on the Poggio beach in the municipality of Bacoli.
The Clean Beaches initiative is carried out in collaboration with Sarim, Ambiente SpA and Centrale del Latte di Salerno.
Article published on May 12, 2022 - 12:21 pm
