Citizen scientists study beach litter along 12,000 km of the East Pacific coast: A baseline for the International Plastic Treaty

Diamela De Veer; Jostein Baeza-Álvarez; Solange Bolaños; Sebastián Cavour Araya; Jodie J. Darquea; Manuel A. Díaz Poblete; Gustavo Domínguez; Geraldine Holtmann-Ahumada; Daniela Honorato-Zimmer; Nikita Gaibor; María de los Ángeles Gallardo; Valeska Guevara Torrejón; Alejandra León Chumpitaz; Lara Marcús Zamora; Valentina Mora; Juan Manuel Muñoz Araya; Beatriz Pernía; Sara Purca; Marcelo M. Rivadeneira; Osmel Alberto Sánchez; José Miguel Sepúlveda; Mauricio Urbina; Nelson Vásquez; José Vélez Tacuri; Vieia Villalobos; Bernardita Villanueva Brücher; Martin Thiel

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115481

Citizen scientists study beach litter along 12,000 km of the East Pacific coast: A baseline for the International Plastic Treaty

Diamela De Veer, Jostein Baeza-Álvarez, Solange Bolaños, Sebastián Cavour Araya, Jodie J. Darquea, Manuel A. Díaz Poblete, Gustavo Domínguez, Geraldine Holtmann-Ahumada, Daniela Honorato-Zimmer, Nikita Gaibor, María de los Ángeles Gallardo, Valeska Guevara Torrejón, Alejandra León Chumpitaz, Lara Marcús Zamora, Valentina Mora, Juan Manuel Muñoz Araya, Beatriz Pernía, Sara Purca, Marcelo M. Rivadeneira, Osmel Alberto SánchezJosé Miguel Sepúlveda, Mauricio Urbina, Nelson Vásquez, José Vélez Tacuri, Vieia Villalobos, Bernardita Villanueva Brücher, Martin Thiel^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

7 Scopus citations

Abstract

Anthropogenic Marine Litter (AML) accumulating on beaches causes damage to coastal ecosystems and high costs to local communities. Volunteers sampled AML on 130 beaches along the central and southern East Pacific coasts, with AML densities ranging from 0.46 to 2.26 items m⁻² in the different countries. AML composition was dominated by plastics and cigarette butts, the latter especially in Mexico and Chile. The accumulation of AML in the upper zones of the beaches and substantial proportions of cigarette butts, glass and metal pointed mainly to local sources. Statistical modelling of litter sources on continental beaches revealed that tourism, access and related infrastructure (e.g. parking lots) best explained AML densities, while plastic densities were also influenced by the distance from river mouths and national Gross Domestic Product. Large-scale monitoring can be a useful tool to evaluate the effectiveness of public policies that should primarily focus on land sources.

Original language	English
Article number	115481
Journal	Marine Pollution Bulletin
Volume	196
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115481
State	Published - 2023

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 Elsevier Ltd

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Oceanography
Aquatic Science
Pollution

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115481

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De Veer, D., Baeza-Álvarez, J., Bolaños, S., Cavour Araya, S., Darquea, J. J., Díaz Poblete, M. A., Domínguez, G., Holtmann-Ahumada, G., Honorato-Zimmer, D., Gaibor, N., Gallardo, M. D. L. Á., Guevara Torrejón, V., León Chumpitaz, A., Marcús Zamora, L., Mora, V., Muñoz Araya, J. M., Pernía, B., Purca, S., Rivadeneira, M. M., ... Thiel, M. (2023). Citizen scientists study beach litter along 12,000 km of the East Pacific coast: A baseline for the International Plastic Treaty. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 196, Article 115481. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115481

@article{55877821acad42318fe604359fb2792a,

title = "Citizen scientists study beach litter along 12,000 km of the East Pacific coast: A baseline for the International Plastic Treaty",

abstract = "Anthropogenic Marine Litter (AML) accumulating on beaches causes damage to coastal ecosystems and high costs to local communities. Volunteers sampled AML on 130 beaches along the central and southern East Pacific coasts, with AML densities ranging from 0.46 to 2.26 items m−2 in the different countries. AML composition was dominated by plastics and cigarette butts, the latter especially in Mexico and Chile. The accumulation of AML in the upper zones of the beaches and substantial proportions of cigarette butts, glass and metal pointed mainly to local sources. Statistical modelling of litter sources on continental beaches revealed that tourism, access and related infrastructure (e.g. parking lots) best explained AML densities, while plastic densities were also influenced by the distance from river mouths and national Gross Domestic Product. Large-scale monitoring can be a useful tool to evaluate the effectiveness of public policies that should primarily focus on land sources.",

keywords = "Cigarette butts, Collaborative science, Large-scale monitoring, Marine debris, Plastic pollution, Public policies",

author = "{De Veer}, Diamela and Jostein Baeza-{\'A}lvarez and Solange Bola{\~n}os and {Cavour Araya}, Sebasti{\'a}n and Darquea, {Jodie J.} and {D{\'i}az Poblete}, {Manuel A.} and Gustavo Dom{\'i}nguez and Geraldine Holtmann-Ahumada and Daniela Honorato-Zimmer and Nikita Gaibor and Gallardo, {Mar{\'i}a de los {\'A}ngeles} and {Guevara Torrej{\'o}n}, Valeska and {Le{\'o}n Chumpitaz}, Alejandra and {Marc{\'u}s Zamora}, Lara and Valentina Mora and {Mu{\~n}oz Araya}, {Juan Manuel} and Beatriz Pern{\'i}a and Sara Purca and Rivadeneira, {Marcelo M.} and S{\'a}nchez, {Osmel Alberto} and Sep{\'u}lveda, {Jos{\'e} Miguel} and Mauricio Urbina and Nelson V{\'a}squez and {V{\'e}lez Tacuri}, Jos{\'e} and Vieia Villalobos and {Villanueva Br{\"u}cher}, Bernardita and Martin Thiel",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2023 Elsevier Ltd",

year = "2023",

month = nov,

doi = "10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115481",

language = "English",

volume = "196",

journal = "Marine Pollution Bulletin",

issn = "0025-326X",

publisher = "Elsevier Inc.",

}

De Veer, D, Baeza-Álvarez, J, Bolaños, S, Cavour Araya, S, Darquea, JJ, Díaz Poblete, MA, Domínguez, G, Holtmann-Ahumada, G, Honorato-Zimmer, D, Gaibor, N, Gallardo, MDLÁ, Guevara Torrejón, V, León Chumpitaz, A, Marcús Zamora, L, Mora, V, Muñoz Araya, JM, Pernía, B, Purca, S, Rivadeneira, MM, Sánchez, OA, Sepúlveda, JM, Urbina, M, Vásquez, N, Vélez Tacuri, J, Villalobos, V, Villanueva Brücher, B & Thiel, M 2023, 'Citizen scientists study beach litter along 12,000 km of the East Pacific coast: A baseline for the International Plastic Treaty', Marine Pollution Bulletin, vol. 196, 115481. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115481

TY - JOUR

T1 - Citizen scientists study beach litter along 12,000 km of the East Pacific coast

T2 - A baseline for the International Plastic Treaty

AU - De Veer, Diamela

AU - Baeza-Álvarez, Jostein

AU - Bolaños, Solange

AU - Cavour Araya, Sebastián

AU - Darquea, Jodie J.

AU - Díaz Poblete, Manuel A.

AU - Domínguez, Gustavo

AU - Holtmann-Ahumada, Geraldine

AU - Honorato-Zimmer, Daniela

AU - Gaibor, Nikita

AU - Gallardo, María de los Ángeles

AU - Guevara Torrejón, Valeska

AU - León Chumpitaz, Alejandra

AU - Marcús Zamora, Lara

AU - Mora, Valentina

AU - Muñoz Araya, Juan Manuel

AU - Pernía, Beatriz

AU - Purca, Sara

AU - Rivadeneira, Marcelo M.

AU - Sánchez, Osmel Alberto

AU - Sepúlveda, José Miguel

AU - Urbina, Mauricio

AU - Vásquez, Nelson

AU - Vélez Tacuri, José

AU - Villalobos, Vieia

AU - Villanueva Brücher, Bernardita

AU - Thiel, Martin

PY - 2023/11

Y1 - 2023/11

N2 - Anthropogenic Marine Litter (AML) accumulating on beaches causes damage to coastal ecosystems and high costs to local communities. Volunteers sampled AML on 130 beaches along the central and southern East Pacific coasts, with AML densities ranging from 0.46 to 2.26 items m−2 in the different countries. AML composition was dominated by plastics and cigarette butts, the latter especially in Mexico and Chile. The accumulation of AML in the upper zones of the beaches and substantial proportions of cigarette butts, glass and metal pointed mainly to local sources. Statistical modelling of litter sources on continental beaches revealed that tourism, access and related infrastructure (e.g. parking lots) best explained AML densities, while plastic densities were also influenced by the distance from river mouths and national Gross Domestic Product. Large-scale monitoring can be a useful tool to evaluate the effectiveness of public policies that should primarily focus on land sources.

AB - Anthropogenic Marine Litter (AML) accumulating on beaches causes damage to coastal ecosystems and high costs to local communities. Volunteers sampled AML on 130 beaches along the central and southern East Pacific coasts, with AML densities ranging from 0.46 to 2.26 items m−2 in the different countries. AML composition was dominated by plastics and cigarette butts, the latter especially in Mexico and Chile. The accumulation of AML in the upper zones of the beaches and substantial proportions of cigarette butts, glass and metal pointed mainly to local sources. Statistical modelling of litter sources on continental beaches revealed that tourism, access and related infrastructure (e.g. parking lots) best explained AML densities, while plastic densities were also influenced by the distance from river mouths and national Gross Domestic Product. Large-scale monitoring can be a useful tool to evaluate the effectiveness of public policies that should primarily focus on land sources.

KW - Cigarette butts

KW - Collaborative science

KW - Large-scale monitoring

KW - Marine debris

KW - Plastic pollution

KW - Public policies

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85174169883&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115481

DO - 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115481

M3 - Article

C2 - 37857060

AN - SCOPUS:85174169883

SN - 0025-326X

VL - 196

JO - Marine Pollution Bulletin

JF - Marine Pollution Bulletin

M1 - 115481

ER -

Citizen scientists study beach litter along 12,000 km of the East Pacific coast: A baseline for the International Plastic Treaty

Abstract

Bibliographical note

ASJC Scopus subject areas

UN SDGs

Access to Document

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