Abundance, type, and origin of litter on No. 1 Bathing Beach of Qingdao, China

Abstract

Detection of litter along beaches in many countries indicates an anthropoginic source of marine pollution. The abundance and composition of litter were measured for the first time along the No.1 Bathing Beach, Qingdao, China. Surveys were conducted during May to July, 2018 in order to estimate the occurrence and abundance of nine litter types. In total, 4476 litter items were collected with a corresponding weight of 330.2 kg. The most prominent litter was plastic followed by paper, wood, and (cloth and ropes) with corresponding percentages of 49.91, 10.30 and 9.76% of the total litter items. Plastics were the most abundant litter type (38.81%) in term of weight, followed by paper (12.11%) and food items (9.07%). The main sources of litter included human recreational activities, e.g. tourism, fisheries and cafes. Statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) were found between the number/weight of different items during the three months of study. The results of the present study will help to administer effective beach litter management programs.