Common Items of Marine Litter
Marine litter comes in many forms
There are many different sources of marine litter. By taking a closer look at what we find on our coasts, we can identify & target the activities that cause litter.
What do we find on the coasts of Bonaire?
Problematic litter items include: plastic, plastic and more plastic....
Here are just a few of the worst culprits:
Small pieces of plastic (smaller than 2.5cm)
Exposure to salt water, UV light & wave action can cause plastics to break apart into unidentifiable pieces.
Eventually, these pieces can disintegrate further into secondary microplastics.
These small pieces are easily mistaken by marine life for food & ingested, where they can make their way up the food chain.
Cigarette butts
The most commonly found item on the coasts of the world.
They're wrapped in paper, but the filter inside is made from plastic.
Plastic caps
Even when bottles get recycled, quite often their caps don't go with them. This is why caps are very commonly found in Bonaire and the beaches of the world.
Marine litter data about plastic caps in the OSPAR region led to an EU directive requiring product re-design keeping caps tethered to bottles.
Rope
Plastic ropes and nets are a destructive part of the commercial fishing industry.
