Socio-economic factors affecting the distribution of marine litter: The Portuguese case study

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2023

Authors

Isabel Iglesias (Author) Other; Maïté Lupiac (Author) Other; Luís R. Vieira (Author) Other; Sara C. Antunes (Author) FCUP; Joana M. Veiga (Author) Other; Isabel Sousa Pinto (Author) FCUP; António Lobo (Author) FEUP

Journal

Title: Marine Pollution Bulletin

Vol. 193

Initial page: 115168

ISSN: 0025-326X

Publisher: Elsevier

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 5 Citations

ISI Web of Science

Scopus - 5 Citations

Scientific classification

CORDIS: Natural sciences > Environmental science > Ecology > Wastes management ; Natural sciences > Environmental science > Natural resources management > Environmental protection

FOS: Natural sciences > Earth and related Environmental sciences

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-00Y-KEF

DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115168

Abstract (EN): Marine litter is a growing global problem with serious environmental, economic, social, and health threats. Understanding the socio-economic factors that influence the types and amounts of litter is of utmost importance. In this study, an integrative analysis of the socio-economic factors that characterize the beach litter distribution in continental Portugal and the Azores archipelago was conducted via a cluster analysis, implementing a novel technique to support the difficult task of marine litter characterization. The results highlighted that the most abundant beach litter material is plastic (92.9 %), followed by paper (2.2 %), wood (1.5 %), and metal (1.3 %). The majority of the items could not be attributed to a specific source (46.5 %). The remaining were attributed to public litter (34.5 % of total aggregated items), fishing (9.8 %), sewage-related debris (6.4 %) and shipping (2.2 %). The top-three beach litter categories were small plastic pieces (0-2.5 cm, 43.5 %), cigarette butts (30.1 %), and medium plastic pieces (2.5-50 cm, 26.4 %). A positive relation between both municipality environment expenditures and population density and the quantity and typology of litter was found. Beach litter quantity and categories were also associated with specific economic sectors, as well as with geographical/hydrodynamic conditions, demonstrating the utility of the technique and its applicability to other regions.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 14