Observing the World Ocean Day on June 8, the Department of Marine and Coastal Studies of Madurai Kamaraj University conducted an awareness campaign by cleaning the Pudumadam beach along the Gulf of Mannar in Ramanathapuram district.
Coordinators of the event said through the clean-up programme, they learnt that the composition of various marine debris along the coasts mostly includes plastic bottles, thermocol, plastic wrappers, glass bottles, paper cups, cigarette buds, and plastic bottle caps among other things.
M. Anand, coordinator of the clean-up activity, MKU, said about 80% of the debris on the beaches and shorelines were generated by anthropogenic activities. “The debris, which is thrown even in faraway places, travels through storm-water drains or creeks into the beaches and ocean,” he said.
Pointing out to various plastic waste that make up the debris, Mr. Anand said the waste mostly constituted of plastic bottles and plastic wrappers (55%), followed by glass bottles (20%), and the rest includes cigarette buds, bottles caps, straws, fishing nets, and so on. The recyclable waste such as paper formed low proportion of the plastic waste compared to the non-biodegradable waste, he added.
The speakers suggested that the district administration should enforce strict laws against littering plastic waste by tourists visiting the beaches and steps should be taken to make the beach area trash-free. Residents should be instructed to segregate the waste before disposing the household waste as this waste could reach the ocean through various ways, they said.
The participants were apprised of the impact of micro plastics on the marine life, particularly the fish.
Published - June 09, 2024 07:22 pm IST
