According to the report of a collaborative study between the Institute of Marine Science and the Plastivida Institute of Marine Sciences at the University of São Paulo, more than 95% of beach waste in Brazil is made of plastic products such as bottles, straws, fishing nets and the like.
Brazil's 'BBC Brasil' reported on January 23 that IO-USP and Plastivida have monitored the three beaches in São Paulo State, the three beaches in Bahia and the three beaches in Alagoas. The staff first took the beach Clear out a piece of sand, and then go back to garbage collection at intervals.
The investigation revealed that the pollution in the beaches of São Paulo State was caused mainly by fishing activities, while the pollution in Bahia and Alagoas in the northeast was due to tourism.
Alexander Turra, an IO-USP biologist, says doing the project is meant to educate the environment so people have a proper understanding of the waste and keep the oceans and beaches clean. We have found that the issue of marine litter is not a problem in coastal cities, and it involves all states and cities and involves basic sanitation, environmental education and social culture, "he said.
Miguel Bahiense, chairman of Plastivida, said the issue could only be solved by all sectors. "We are engaged in advocacy and education, which requires the participation of the entire community, including the power sector, all sectors and Ordinary people, because we are all for a common purpose, that is, to protect the oceans and the environment, 'he said.
There is not much research on marine litter, either in Brazil or abroad, with more than 80% of marine litter coming from land, such as waste from economic activities, municipal waste, poorly managed port and tourism waste, Disposal of rubbish at rivers and lakes, resulting in so-called diffuse pollution, and 20% of rubbish comes from the sea, such as people's fishing, diving, cruise ships and so on.
Brazil ranked 16th in a ranking of marine pollutions released in 2015. It was pointed out in the report that the amount of plastic trash discarded by beaches in the world's coastal nations each year ranges from 70,000 to 190,000 tons.