Search

The Vina del Mar - Concón Coastal strip is well known for its urban beaches, which play an essential role in the national economy. With extreme urban development, these beaches have become more polluted by litter. This paper evaluates the abundance, spatio-temporal distribution, typology, and sources of beach litter in 14 sectors located inside this coastal strip. A total of 19,886 litter items were collected and grouped into 50 different categories (11 litter typologies). Overall average litter abundance was 0.21 items/m2 while during the fall and winter averages were 0.25 items/m2 and 0.17 items/m2. Values changed along the area and between seasons. Plastics, cigarette butts and paper-cardboard typologies dominated the samples with 42% (0.088 items/m2), 25.4% (0.053 items/m2) and 20.8% (0.043 items/m2). • Litter average was 0.21 items/m2 while during fall and winter were 0.25 items/m2 and 0.17 items/m2. • Plastics, cigarette butts and paper-cardboard dominated the litter collected with an average of 88.3%. • The 14 sectors surveyed were classified using four different environmental indexes. • The study area can be divided into two specific groups. • Litter composition suggests a combination of six sources that mainly include direct activities over the beach environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Along the Viña del Mar - Concón coastal strip 11,894 litter items were collected, and grouped into 48 different categories (11 litter typologies). The average litter abundance was 0.25 items/m2, plastic items, and cigarette butts being the most common. Hazardous litter can be found along the entire study area, reaching 28.9% (3438 items of 11,894 total items collected distributed in 14 different categories), and an average of 0.071 items/m2. The application of environmental evaluation indices based on litter data, allows categorizing the study area as a clean-moderate coastal strip with some presence of hazardous litter items, and unsatisfactory environmental conditions. Studied sectors were statistically grouped into three specific types that ranged from sectors in optimal environmental conditions (Group A) to sectors in adverse environmental conditions (Group C). The typology and magnitudes of litter found along the study area suggest a combination of sources that mainly include direct activities on the beach (recreational and smoking-related) as well dumping. In the same way, sanitary waste, ocean/waterway items, and items related to surfing activities were observed. Strategies for litter management and environmental quality improvement need to be developed and enforced. • Litter was found along Viña del Mar - Concón coastal strip with an average abundance of 0.25 items/m2. • 48 different litter categories (11 litter typologies). • Plastics and cigarette butts dominated the litter collected with an average of 66 %. • The percentage of hazardous anthropogenic litter reached a value of 28.9% (3438 items of 11894 total items collected. • Litter composition suggests a combination of sources that mainly include direct activities over the beach [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]