Marine litter

Proof that the North Sea is used as a dump-site washes ashore every day. Glass, wood, paper, medicine, cans - one runs into all sorts of objects during a walk along the beach. Since the past few years, plastic has increased among the various types of rubbish. Much of it is merely thrown overboard from ships. Birds such as fulmars see this garbage as food and swallow it. Twenty million kilograms of marine litter end up in the North Sea yearly. Fishermen in the Netherlands caught 110,000 kilograms of marine litter in their nets in 2004. They hand the litter over to proper dumping stations, as part of the EU project 'Save the North Sea'. The annual Coastwatch project involves school children and volunteers from various European countries, including the Netherlands, who collect and investigate the litter washed onto the shore.

Nature of the marine litter in the Netherlands

Around half of all the marine litter on the Dutch beaches consisted of plastic, as conclude from the results of Coastwatch investigations. Most of the marine litter degrades so poorly that the total amount is only increasing. Even when no new litter should end up in the sea, what is now in the water will continue to drift around and wash ashore for dozens of years to come.

time for decomposition of washed up refuse
newspapers	several days
cardboard boxes	half year
polyester bottles	5 - 10 years
beer cans	50 years
nylon rope	100-500 years
polystyrene containers and glass	more than 1000 years
source: Coastwatch

Dangers for animals

Seabirds see plastic for food; petrels in particular will swallow it. The plastic fills up their stomachs so that they no longer feel hungry, however in reality they are not getting the necessary nourishment. The plastic can also block or damage the digestive system. Furthermore, birds are found entangled in all sorts of packing materials, fishnets and (cut!) nylon fishing line.

In the past few years, it was determined that the cause of death for more than 5% of the gannets was due to entanglement in (lost) fishing gear or other marine litter.

A humpback whale washed ashore on the island of Vlieland in 2004. It had died of the results of a nylon rope that hindered its lungs. Seals can also get entangled in nylon rope, such as shown in the photo below of a seal brought to Ecomare in March 2005. The seal had severe wounds, sores and paralysing symptoms and had to be put to sleep.

Dangers for man

Marine litter can also be a source of risks for people; it's not unusual to find medicine or toxic materials among the rubbish. One regularly finds cans of oil, paint or other chemical substances

Unfortunately, the rules are such that local environmental organizations are not allowed to simply remove these cans. Officially, the wreckmaster must give his permission. However, in the case of liquid chemicals, there is a risk that people strolling on the beach may open up the barrels, smell it or turn it over whereby the contents sinks into the sand.

Sources of marine litter

The sources of marine litter are determined for a large extent by the season. In the busy summer season, tourists leave behind most of the marine litter. Yet it does seem that more and more people are making the effort to dispose of their rubbish in a rubbish barrel. Coastal towns try to keep busy beaches as clean as possible during the summer months.

Ships are required to hand in their rubbish in a harbour for a charge. Large amounts of rubbish are usually brought to the proper disposal areas however smaller amounts are often thrown (or fall) overboard. A lot of rubbish ends up in the sea due to damage, such as broken rope and wood. Nets that have come loose unintentionally are a large problem, particularly for animals as well as ships. A number of fishermen participate in the project 'Vuivissen' (dirty fishing).

Ship litter is practically all household garbage nowadays. Cargo rarely washes ashore anymore. In earlier days, when goods were transported loosely on board, cargo regularly fell overboard and washed ashore somewhere. But since container ships were introduced, the spectacular beachings of ship loads have become a thing of the past.

Costs of cleaning up marine litter

The coastal towns spend large amounts of money to clean up the coast. For example, the town of Vlissingen spends more than 45,000 euros, while a cleanup of the ten kilometer long coast by Scheveningen costs almost one million euros. These costs are made during the summer season alone. Another example is the cleaning of dikes. The Dike Board that maintains the Hondsbosche Seawall has employed people to keep the dike clean of washed up material in order to prevent it from being blown elsewhere. Most of this rubbish comes from the sea.

Dutch policy in relation to marine litter at sea

In the so-called port reception facilities (PRFs) in the Netherlands, the captains can hand in their oil wastes and regular rubbish. All discharges in the Wadden Sea are illegal. Since April 1991, there has been a general dumping ban in the entire North Sea for litter and other solid wastes, such as dunnage. Since this date, the North Sea received the MARPOL Annex V 'special area' status for this kind of litter.

Active cleanups in the Netherlands

There are more organizations that concern themselves in one way or the other with marine litter along the Dutch coast. On a national level, there is the North Sea Foundation with the educational research project Coastwatch and Stichting Duinbehoud ('Dune Management'), Stichting Nederland Schoon ('Clean') and the ANWB (Dutch Automobile Association) with its national Beach Cleanup Day every year in April.

Weblinks

Website from colleagues in Great Britian, Beachwatch:
http://www.mcsuk.org/

Save the North Sea website:
http://www.savethenorthsea.com/sa/node.asp?node=1368

Source: de Vleet, Ecomare