‘Down to the river’: amount, composition, and economic sector of litter entering the marine compartment, through the Tiber river in the Western Mediterranean Sea

Author: Roberto Crosti, Antonella Arcangeli, Ilaria Campana, Miriam Paraboschi and Daniel González-Fernández
Year of Publication: 2018
Published: Rendiconti Lincei. Scienze Fisiche e Naturali 29: 859-866

Abstract:
Land-based activities are, undoubtedly, the main source of marine litter, particularly in a highly populated closed sea basin, such as the Mediterranean Sea. Rivers, consequently, act as a pathway of mismanaged waste to the sea. While quantification of inputs is a difficult task, the assessment of abundance, composition trends and baselines, and the identification of sources and main sectors producing marine litter are of crucial importance to support the ability of policy makers to improve waste reduction measures. For this reason, the Joint Research Centre (JRC/RIMMEL) coordinated a network of several research bodies that monitored floating litter (> 2.5 cm) from fixed observation points located on rivers near the sea using the same systematic research protocol. In Italy, one of the surveyed rivers was the Tiber, the third longest river on the peninsula, which after running through the city of Rome divides into two branches before flowing into the Tyrrhenian Sea. Results of 1 year of monitoring, September 2016–August 2017, highlight that 82% of the floating items were plastic and belong to the food and cosmetic sector, and it was estimated that 85.4% (± 9.4) of litter items get into the sea each hour from the Tiber river canal in Fiumicino, of which approximately 30% were already fragmented.

Keywords:
Marine litter, Mediterranean Sea, Monitoring protocol, Riverine litter, Tibet river

Citation:
Crosti, R., Arcangeli, A., Campana, I., Paraboschi, M., González-Fernández, D., 2018. ‘Down to the river’: amount, composition, and economic sector of litter entering the marine compartment, through the Tiber river in the Western Mediterranean Sea. Rendiconti Lincei. Scienze Fisiche e Naturali 29: 859. doi.org/10.1007/s12210-018-0747-y.

Link:
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs12210-018-0747-y

Assessment of floating plastic debris in surface water along the Seine River

Author: Johnny Gasperi, Rachid Dris, Tiffany Bonin, Vincent Rocher and Bruno Tassin
Year of Publication: 2014
Published: Environmental Pollution 195:163–166.

Abstract:
This study is intended to examine the quality and quantity of floating plastic debris in the River Seine through use of an extensive regional network of floating debris-retention booms; it is one of the first attempts to provide reliable information on such debris at a large regional scale. Plastic debris represented between 0.8% and 5.1% of total debris collected by weight. A significant proportion consisted of food wrappers/containers and plastic cutlery, probably originating from voluntary or involuntary dumping, urban discharges and surface runoff. Most plastic items are made of polypropylene, polyethylene and, to a lesser extent, polyethylene terephthalate. By extrapolation, some 27 tons of floating plastic debris are intercepted annually by this network; corresponding to 2.3 g per Parisian inhabitant per year. Such data could serve to provide a first evaluation of floating plastic inputs conveyed by rivers.

Keywords:
Floating plastic litter, Plastic loads, River, Riverine litter

Citation:
Gasperi, J., Dris, R., Bonin, T.l., Rocher, V., Tassin, B., 2014. Assessment of floating plastic debris in surface water along the Seine River. Environmental Pollution 195:163–166.

Link:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749114003807