Influence of socio-economic characteristics of beach users on litter generation

Marine litter is now recognized as a major form of marine pollution and key factor for coastal managers. The aims of this paper are to: (a) investigate the perception of beach users on aspects related to solid waste pollution and (b) quantify the input of tourism-related litter to the southern Brazilian coastal ecosystem in areas occupied by beach users with different socio-economic characteristics. Interview results indicated that beach users normally do not admit littering on the beach; believe that hazards to humans are the main problem caused by litter; suggest the conduction of education activities and more trash bins for reducing beach contamination. Results indicated that daily litter input to the beach was higher (p<0.01) in the region frequented by people with lower annual income and literacy degree, evidencing the influence of educational level on people environmental awareness and behavior in relation to its own residues. Cigarette butts, followed by plastics are the main kind of litter generated. Strong correlations between beach visitor density and litter generation showed that (1) tourism is the main source of marine debris and (2) beach contamination depends on beach visitor density. The use of southern Brazilian coastal zone has increased very quickly, but environmental awareness of people has not accompanied it. It is evident that litter input and impacts in the oceans will increase if no preventive actions were taken.