Assessment of coastal litter trends in tourist vs. non-tourist beaches: A case study from Indian coastal smart city.

Abstract

Coastal ecosystems are increasingly threatened by the accumulation of marine litter globally. Limited data availability along India's eastern coast hinders targeted mitigation efforts. This study assesses coastal litter along Visakhapatnam, a smart city on India's eastern coast, using the NOAA shoreline debris protocol. Litter assessments at 12 sites before and after the monsoon season revealed high mean litter densities (2.66 ± 0.31 items m^-2 before monsoon, 2.03 ± 0.29 items m^-2 after monsoon), exceeding the global average by twofold and the national average by five-fold. The tourist beaches saw a 63 % litter reduction after monsoon due to the implementation of better waste management practices, while non-tourist beaches saw a 16 % increase, highlighting disparities in waste management practices. Plastic comprised 86 % of litter, exceeding the global mean proportion (85 %) in marine litter. Alarmingly, 50 % of tourist beaches and all non-tourist beaches were classified as "extremely dirty" by the Clean Coast Index. Land-based influx through stormwater drains was identified as the primary source of litter. This study provides critical baseline data for India's eastern coast, emphasizing the urgent need for targeted interventions, including improved stormwater management and community engagement, to mitigate the escalating marine litter crisis. Further, the findings and recommendations provide valuable insights for managing plastic pollution in coastal cities with similar characteristics, particularly those influenced by monsoons and tourism.