Rates of accumulation of marine debris in Chatham County, Georgia

Abstract

Marine debris (persistent, solid marine pollution), especially plastics and medical wastes, is a growing concern of coastal communities. In Chatham County, Georgia marine pollution was studied over an eight-month period in 1989–1990 at four sites representing a variety of shoreline types. Anthropogenic solid materials (e.g. plastics, metals, glass) were collected in measured areas from the shoreline to highest high tide line, classified by type, measured to the nearest centimetre, and weighed to the nearest gram. From 2.38 km of shoreline 956 separate items weighing a total of 107.2 kg were collected. The equivalent of 94.4 kg marine debris per km was collected during the first sampling in October 1989. This amount was less than that reported by 12 of the 22 states participating in the 1989 Beachsweep effort. Overall, the rate of accumulation of marine debris in Chatham County, Georgia is 102 kg per km per year. Extrapolating this rate to the total estimated shoreline in Chatham County, 40 800 kg or 40.8 t of marine debris might wash up on its shores annually. No medical wastes were found at any of the sites during the study.