India's cleanest and dirtiest beaches | India News

Thirty-four Indian beaches have together produced 35 tonnes of waste in a coastal cleanup operation conducted by professionals towards the end of last year. The litter recovered mostly comprised plastic and glass, paper, rubber and general waste left behind by tourists and local populace. Table-topper Kerala’s sandy beaches and pristine backwaters are probably reeling under the weight of hectic tourism activity, as 9,519kg of litter, the highest in the country, was collected across its five beaches in two hours by volunteers, making it the most polluted coast in the country. medium73086495Volunteers, who were part of the operation conducted by Ministry of Earth Sciences lab National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR) in September 2019, picked up 35 tonnes or 2.39 lakh pieces of litter across 34 beaches. Around 6,804kg of litter was collected on six beaches of Tamil Nadu, the runner-up, while 5,930kg of waste came from three beaches of Maharashtra. Odisha, where 478kg of litter was collected on four beaches, has the least polluted coastline. NCCR researchers said about half of the 35-tonne litter was plastic dumped by beach-goers looking for a whiff of fresh air. While the remaining trash comprised leavings of fishing activity and household items disposed in the sea, 20% of the waste was glass bottles. medium73086378“The major source of litter on 22 beaches is tourism and recreational activity. Plastic waste such as cups, bottles, bags, bottle caps and food wrappers were found,” said the NCCR report.Plastic items left on the beach generally break down into microplastics (less than 5mm) during the weathering process. When this is swept out to sea, microplastics enter the marine food chain and settle in the gut of fish eventually consumed by humans. “Other types of litter picked up were glass bottles, footwear, tyres, gloves, organic waste, clothes, and items such as flowers and coconuts used for religious purposes,” the report added. medium73086890NCCR director M V Ramana Murthy said the cleanup activity was a step in tracking beach pollution trends which will support framing an anti-marine litter policy. It includes studying the type and quantity of trash generated on land, the quantity reaching the coast, and its impact on the ecosystem. “We will repeat this coastal cleanup activity to collect more data to equip us to speak about coastal pollution quantitatively,” he said. Of the 9.5tonnes collected in Kerala, around 8,044kg was picked up from Kozhikode south beach, which included 3,300kg of plastic bags. While tourism is a major source of litter, researchers said the beach in Kozhikode is polluted as small streams are directly linked to the sea. In Maharashtra, the main sources of pollution were untreated sewage, industrial effluents and fish waste generated at fish landing centres. “Big cities with large populations have more garbage on their beaches... beaches in Odisha are the least polluted,” the report said. For researchers, besides pollution, the study provided a glimpse of human behaviour. For instance, glass bottles, which could be liquor bottles, were picked up in several beaches including Tamil Nadu’s temple town Rameswaram. About 60% of the 25kg waste, the least among the 34 beaches, collected in Kerala at Kazhakuttom Perumathura beach was liquor bottles. “Glass bottles were found in Gujarat beaches too,” an NCCR researcher said. “In our ongoing study on fish, we have found pieces that disintegrated from fishing nets.” Researchers said the study has left several unanswered questions which they have planned to pursue in future studies.