The garbage crisis is not only invading Indian cities, but coasts as well, and the problem is assuming grave proportions. The incident in early June this year that saw nearly 120 tonnes of trash washed ashore on Juhu beach in Mumbai exposed the high levels of pollution that the Indian coasts are subjected to.
Coastal debris include plastic and other non-biodegradable synthetic materials discarded intentionally or unintentionally that enter the marine environment. This waste finds its way to the sea, does not undergo degradation and remains suspended in the water and often gets washed ashore as litter all along the coast. As high as 6.4 million tonnes of marine litter gets dumped into the seas annually!
Coastal litter degrades the quality and health of the oceans by damaging coastal and marine habitats and harming marine life. Instances of plastic being found in the guts of dead fish and other forms of marine life have been reported in the recent years sending a warning signal for the need to urgently protect the oceans from further deterioration in many parts of the world including India.
A number of sites such as the Nicobar Islands, Karnataka coast, northern Gulf of Mannar, some beaches along the coast of Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, urban beaches in Mumbai and the Mangalore coast are known to be affected by marine litter. However, no comprehensive study has been undertaken on the beach debris in the country.
A study titled Prevalence of marine litter along the Indian beaches: A preliminary account on its status and composition published in the journal, Marine Biological Association of India discusses the results of a national survey that assessed the quality and quantity of beach debris found on select beaches along the coasts of India.
Marine litter was categorised into the following groups for the study:
The study finds that:
Types of marine litter
The source of litter can be traced to increase in tourist activities on beaches, increase in e-waste due to the increase in mobile phone markets, dumping of waste from the ships near the harbours and lack of awareness among people.
The paper makes some suggestions to change the situation:
A copy of the paper can be accessed from here