Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, Cape Town, 7700, South Africa.
Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, Cape Town, 7700, South Africa.
Mar Pollut Bull. 2019 Jan;138:451-457. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.11.065. Epub 2018 Dec 6.
Beach accumulation surveys can be used as a proxy to estimate litter flows into the marine environment. However, litter loads can be influenced by various factors including catchment area characteristics, weather conditions and ocean water movements. This complexity is evidenced by the results of five beach surveys conducted in Cape Town in 2017. Observed average litter accumulation rates across the beaches ranged from 36 to 2961 items·day·100 m. Item mass ranged from 0.01-367 g, with items weighing <1 g contributing 61-85% of count. Plastic items accounted for 94.5-98.9% of total count and this prevalence appears to have increased relative to older data (1989-1994). The top ten identifiable items accounted for 40-57% of plastic debris. Nine of these were associated with foods commonly consumed on-the-go, including polystyrene packaging, snack packets and straws. A mitigation approach focused on these items may address one third to one half of marine litter sources in Cape Town.
海滩堆积物调查可作为一种估算垃圾流入海洋环境的指标。然而，垃圾负荷可能受到多种因素的影响，包括集水区特征、天气条件和海水运动。2017 年在开普敦进行的五次海滩调查结果就证明了这一点。观测到的海滩平均垃圾堆积率在 36 到 2961 件/天·100 米之间。物品的质量范围从 0.01 到 367 克，重量小于 1 克的物品占计数的 61-85%。塑料物品占总计数的 94.5-98.9%，与旧数据（1989-1994 年）相比，这一比例似乎有所增加。排名前十的可识别物品占塑料碎片的 40-57%。其中九种与人们常在路上食用的食物有关，包括聚苯乙烯包装、零食袋和吸管。针对这些物品的缓解措施可能可以解决开普敦三分之一到一半的海洋垃圾来源问题。
