A legally protected community on Brazil’s southeastern coast is threatened by tourist trash left on the beach

A study conducted by researchers at the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP) found high levels of pollution, dominated by plastic trash and cigarette butts, at Perecuque Beach in the coastal city of Guaruja in Brazil’s São Paulo state. This detailed study is one of several carried out around the world and will contribute to the implementation of public policies to alleviate the problem.

An article reporting the results was published in Marine Pollution Bulletin.

The project was a partnership between the UNIFESP Marine Research Institute (IMAR) in Santos and the Guarujá City Environment Department. This beach is part of an environmentally protected area called APA Marinha do Litoral Centro (Área de Proteção Ambiental), which is heavily used by tourists and which eliminates sources of pollution on the beach, which is home to one of the largest and oldest beaches. The purpose is to clarify. A fishing community in the Baixada Santista metropolitan area, which consists of nine municipalities including Guaruja and Santos.

The researchers collected all trash and waste from 10 100 square meter sites on the beach every day, summer and winter, including weekends.

“Our analysis shows that the trash on this beach is mainly caused by tourists, which is worst in the summer, suggesting that tourists are the main source. Residents may be partly to blame,” said Italo Braga de Castro, the last author of the article. Professor IMAR-UNIFESP.

According to the internationally recognized Beach Litter Index, pollution levels from plastic and cigarette butts were considered high. Twelve studies conducted around the world using the same methodology ranked Pellekueh as the dirtiest beach.

“Cigarette butts are the most frequently found type of waste on beaches in surveys conducted here and around the world. They contain many toxic substances, in some cases more than 7,000 This is alarming because at least 150 species are known as ‘chemical bombs’,” said the paper’s lead author, a Ph.D. said Victor Vázquez Ribeiro. Candidate of IMAR-UNIFESP.

From plastic to concrete

To derive the results, the group selected 10 locations on Peleke Beach. At each site, we separated a 100 square meter area, with five wet and five dry areas, from which all waste larger than 3 centimeters was removed and stored. About 20 volunteers, along with scientists, collected material during the winter and summer of 2022 and 2023, on weekends and weekdays.

The waste was then separated into plastics, metals, glass, paper, cardboard, clothing, textiles, and processed wood (used for furniture and buildings). Due to their high incidence and potential impact, cigarette butts were given a separate category. Materials that do not fit into any category are considered “Other”.

The group collected 2,579 items in an area of ​​4,000 square meters and ranked Pelekueh Beach as “dirty” on the Clean Coast Index (CCI) scale. The CCI was published in 2007 and has been used in many comparable studies.

The amount of trash increased in the summer compared to the winter, which was considered “moderate.” This difference was expected given the increased number of tourists during the summer tourist season. The results were similar to those found in other studies on beaches in Brazil and Latin America in general.

In both seasons, the amount of trash on the dry part of the coast was higher than on the part affected by waves. This was also predictable, as lighter materials are usually blown into the dry areas by the wind, and people use the dry areas for picnics and smoking, and discard packaging and cigarette butts there.

On the other hand, heavier objects such as pottery and concrete fragments were more often found on wet parts of the coast because they are not moved by wind or tide.

A total of 603 butts were recovered. According to scientifically accepted estimates of the amount of contaminants that can escape from cigarette butts and affect humans and other living things, this amounts to “severe contamination”; This is the highest level found in 12 coastal and urban surveys conducted to date. of this method.

Another beach in a marine protected area (MPA) around St. Maarten Island in Bangladesh has similar levels of pollution. Comparable, although lower, levels were found in Colombia and Iran, as well as in the urban areas of Santos (São Paulo state) and Niterói (Rio de Janeiro state) in Brazil.

“We didn’t see a big difference in the amount of trash between weekdays and weekends. This is probably because the city cleans the beach with tractors on Fridays. However, in this operation, cigarette butts are too small to be caught. “The chain harrow is overlooked in this work,” Ribeiro said.

Another criterion for the amount of waste is, in this case, it consists of materials that can pose a hazard to bathers and fishermen, such as ceramics, concrete, metal, as well as potentially infectious medical and personal hygiene items. It was classified as Class 3, which means “substantial waste.” You can see dangerous trash. ”

These levels are similar to those found in coastal environments in Chile, Colombia, Morocco, and Nigeria, but higher than most countries studied using the same criteria, including Bangladesh, China, Italy, and Qatar.

“These results demonstrate very clearly the situation and the need for intervention: education to raise awareness, installation of ashtrays and trash cans, fines, and even measures such as those being carried out on beaches in Barcelona, ​​Spain. “Smoking bans are among the options available to lawmakers and city officials to alleviate the problem,” Castro said.