Cigarette butt pollution in popular beaches of Morocco: Abundance, distribution, and mitigation measures.

Autor: Mghili B; LESCB, URL-CNRST N° 18, Abdelmalek Essaadi University, Faculty of Sciences, Tetouan, Morocco. Electronic address: b.mghili@uae.ac.ma., Lamine I; Laboratory of Aquatic Systems: Marine and Continental Ecosystems, Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Ibn Zohr University, BP 8106, Agadir, Morocco; Higher Institute of Nursing Professions and Technical Health, Errachidia., Bouzekry A; LESCB, URL-CNRST N° 18, Abdelmalek Essaadi University, Faculty of Sciences, Tetouan, Morocco., Gunasekaran K; Centre for Aquaculture, Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai 600019, India., Aksissou M; LESCB, URL-CNRST N° 18, Abdelmalek Essaadi University, Faculty of Sciences, Tetouan, Morocco.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Marine pollution bulletin [Mar Pollut Bull] 2023 Oct; Vol. 195, pp. 115530. Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 Sep 15.
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115530
Abstrakt: Cigarette butts pose a significant challenge in managing solid litter, with an estimated 4.5 trillion of them being discarded into the environment annually. This study investigated the pollution of eleven beaches along the Moroccan Mediterranean by cigarette butts compared to other types of marine litter between 2018 and 2023. Sampling was conducted using the visual survey technique according to a standardized protocol. A total of 50, 575 items were collected with cigarette butts (14.62 %) and plastic caps/lids drinks (10.93 %) being the most common. Our survey of eleven beaches revealed 7395 cigarette butts, giving an average density of 0.06/m 2 comparable to other countries in the Mediterranean. The analysis of the results shows significant differences in the abundance cigarette butts according to the beach typology, seasonality, sediment type, and number of beach users. Moreover, the study discovered a decrease in beach pollution during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, resulting in less litter collected compared to pre- and post-pandemic periods. The Cigarette Butt Pollution Index was categorized as very low pollution in M'diq and Kaa Asrass, low pollution in Ksar Sghir, Fnideq, Amsa, Oued Laou, significant pollution in Martil and Nador and sever pollution in Saidia and Sababia. The CBPI was higher during summer and winter, significantly associated with the density levels of beach users. The study recommends immediate action by the local administration to prevent the potential pollution of groundwater and sand by toxic substances leached from cigarette butts.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
(Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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