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The
Beachcomber’s
Guide to
Marine Debris
Michael Stachowitsch
The Beachcomber’s Guide to Marine Debris
 Michael Stachowitsch

The Beachcomber’s
Guide to Marine
Debris
Michael Stachowitsch
Department of Limnology and Bio-Oceanography
University of Vienna
Vienna, Austria

ISBN 978-3-319-90727-7    ISBN 978-3-319-90728-4 (eBook)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90728-4

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018941090

© Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2019

This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the mate-
rial is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting,
reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval,
electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter
developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does
not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective
laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are
believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors
give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions
that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps
and institutional affiliations.

Printed on acid-free paper

This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
 Foreword

There is no shortage of terrible news in the world. It is easy to be overwhelmed

with a century’s weight of human folly. Hailed as humanity’s liberator, the
industrial age has exacted a high toll. Our deep addiction to fossil fuels and all
the products that stem from petroleum and coal has accelerated climate
change, poisoned waterways, and polluted every ocean and sea. Industries
have flourished by misjudging the ocean as an inexhaustible space, one that
could swallow and absorb our refuse within its depths. The Earth’s wondrous
blue ecosystems have become our dumping ground for metal, glass, plastic,
wood, paper, fabrics, and oil.
When I founded OceanCare it was with a deep passion for all of Earth’s
oceanic creatures, from the mightiest whales to the tiniest plankton. The
extraordinary fluid network covering seventy percent of the Earth’s surface –
oceans, seas, estuaries, lagoons, mangroves, coral reefs, salt marshes, intertidal
zones, and the sea floor – inspired our work. We knew that marine life deter-
mined the very nature of our planet. Ocean ecosystems are our lungs, our
sustenance, and the force that keeps our climate stable. Without living oceans,
we would cease to exist.
Beaches are where most of us connect with oceans. They are the backdrop
of idyllic holidays, or the scene of dreams we hold for escape. Water lapping
on the shore is deeply calming, and holding a shell freshly plucked from the
sand evokes the mysteries of another life lived somewhere unfamiliar. Even
when filled with people, or lashed by winds, the beach holds a soothing power
as the water coils around our feet and sand moves between our toes. Standing
at the water’s edge, looking out to sea, Earth feels unique, boundless, and
beautiful.

v
vi Foreword

Despite our fantasies, the ocean depths are not empty and their volume is
finite. In my years heading conservation campaigns I have watched grim news
for oceans roll towards the shore in waves, amassing like seaweed on a beach
after a storm.
Decades ago, when plastic litter was first recognized as a looming problem,
the world community hoped it would remain contained to plastic islands far
out to sea where it might be collected. Its greatest threat appeared to be for
marine species ingesting plastic bags. Occasionally metal, glass, or wood
washed ashore, but our imaginations still saw these as treasures returned from
the deep, worn smooth and polished by grains of sand and salt. Even our
phrases romanticised what we saw – driftwood, flotsam, and jetsam.
As each year progressed, the magnitude of the problem amplified. Today,
almost every shore has been degraded by litter, every lagoon tarnished by
debris. Almost no reef is unsullied with floating plastic. The scale can be over-
whelming. This constant onslaught of dreadful news disrupts our thinking
and changes our brain, keeping us in a state of stress and threatening to
­paralyze action. This mindset does nothing to change the crisis.
Humans are ingenious beings, and I have faith we can find a way out of this
problem. I know that compassionate information, underpinned by solutions,
empowers us and strengthens our faith in humanity. When facts are packaged
with wry humour, the message can motivate us to make changes in our own
lives. This is the gift of The Beachcomber’s Guide to Marine Debris.
Delivering this crucial information in the form of a nature guide is inspired.
Historically, such guides were designed to tap into our desire for escape – they
were a map to the wilds. We can still go there. We can still either walk the
beaches in our minds or with our feet genuinely heated by the sand, but now
we travel with purpose. The Beachcomber’s Guide to Marine Debris enlightens
us towards powerful change.

Sigrid Lüber
Founder and President – OceanCare
www.oceancare.org
 Preface

Beaches are among the most magical environments on our planet, and stroll-
ing barefoot on the sand is certainly one of life’s great pleasures. This may help
explain why so much of the world’s population lives directly on the coast; in
the United States alone, half the population lives within 50 miles of the sea-
shore. And the beach is a preferred vacation destination for nearly everyone.
One of the strongest attractions of beaches is the prospect of experiencing
pristine, untamed nature. Today, however, our shorelines are changing beyond
the natural give and take between land and waves. Pollution and habitat deg-
radation are probably the first things that come into mind when we think
about the sea. One of the most visible and pervasive types of marine pollution
is the trash that clutters our waterways and beaches. You may call it trash, rub-
bish, litter, garbage, refuse, junk, or flotsam and jetsam, but specialists refer to
it as marine debris. This is not merely an aesthetic problem. Marine scientists,
along with a wide range of private organizations, government agencies, and
international bodies, now recognize marine debris as a scourge for sustainable
tourism, a serious threat to wildlife, a menace to fisheries and boating, a health
hazard to humans, and an economic threat to coastal communities.
Today’s beachcombers are more likely to encounter man-made debris than
shore animals and plants. This book takes on the challenge: it combines the
world’s most beloved tourist destinations (beaches) with their most visible
threat. Designed along the lines of a traditional nature guide, it picks up
where the others left off. Rather than showcasing algae, seashells, and other
shore dwellers, it covers the items that actually dominate our beaches, lake
shores, and river banks today: plastic, glass, metal, wood, paper, oil, apparel,
and other materials in unending variations, combinations, and unsavory
states of decomposition. Whereas traditional nature guides are tailored to

vii
viii Preface

regional faunas and floras, you can take this book anywhere in the world. This
is because pollution – and marine debris in particular – is a global problem.
The world’s oceans are all interconnected. International corporations, stan-
dardized products and packaging, worldwide sales and distribution – coupled
with winds, currents, and waves – leave recognizable litter strewn over the
seven seas and their coastlines.
Whether you are participating in a beach cleanup, wish to identify a curi-
ous item you (almost) stepped on, or merely need a more thought-provoking
and entertaining beach vacation read, this book is the answer. It will tell you
what you found, where it came from, how and when it might decompose,
point to potential hazards, and suggest alternative products or waste reduc-
tion and prevention (recycling and upcycling) ideas. What we are doing to
our seas and shores is a crime, and beaches around the world are crime scenes –
the visible manifestation of our impact. Fortunately, marine debris or beach
litter is one type of pollution that we as individuals can actually do something
about, both as consumers and as beachcombers. So get into the action, become
a beach detective, have a little fun in the process, and be part of the solution
in this barefoot environment.

Vienna, Austria Michael Stachowitsch

 Acknowledgment

I thank my editor Janet Slobodien and Springer for taking on this book,
which clearly transcends traditional boundaries and challenged a clear fit into
many an academic publishing program. Two very positive anonymous
reviewers helped make it happen. I am especially grateful to the OceanCare
team, above all Niki Entrup, for their enthusiasm about this book and for
supporting its production. Petra Triessnig, coauthor in the first paper on
beach litter and sea turtle hatchlings, was instrumental in organizing my
untold photos. The geographic distribution of the photos reflects the length
of my sojourns on various shores more than any country’s proclivity for pro-
ducing marine debris. I am thankful to the people who didn’t arrest me for
taking compromising photos of their polluted beaches – even if most had no
inkling of what I was actually up to. Martin Zuschin provided Fig. 3.47 and
Fabian Ritter Figs. 3.48 and 3.71. Alexandra Haselmair drew the four graph-
ics. I wish to thank my wife, Sylvie, and the many friends and colleagues who
badgered me to complete this book, including Coni Dennig who helped
hatch the idea on a vacation to Italy all those years ago. This book was written
in the spirit of love for seascapes near and far.

ix
 Contents

1 Introduction   1
1.1 Guide Format   1
1.2 The Beach Environment   3
1.3 The Marine Debris Problem   6
1.3.1 Marine Debris: Why the Fuss?  7
1.3.2 Gaining a Better Understanding of Marine Debris  11
1.4 What Can You and I Do?  22
References  28

2 Glass  31
2.1 Glass  31
2.2 Glass Bottles and Fragments  33
2.3 Light Bulbs  44
References  48

3 Metal, Vehicles, and Tires  49

3.1 Metal  49
3.2 Vehicles  68
3.3 Tires  76
References  86

4 Plastic  87
References  95
4.1 Plastic Beverage Containers and Co.  96
References  99

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