CHENNAI: More than 80% of the 177kg litter collected during a clean-up drive at Elliot’s beach in Besant Nagar on Thursday was single-use plastics. Volunteers, who spent around 90 minutes to collect the waste strewn on the beach sands over a 10,500sqm area, collected around 1.68grams per square metre area. Union minister of earth sciences Kiren Rijiju launched and participated in the beach clean-up organised by the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) and National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR) as part of the World Oceans Day celebrations.
“The litter collected included macro-sized single-use plastics such as cups, food containers and polythene bags. They were all in pieces, which could get stuck in the beach cleaning equipment. The plastic spoons and straws we used to find on the beach earlier were not there,” said Pravakar Mishra, NCCR scientist. NCCR has also conducted similar beach clean-up activity in 17 beaches on Thursday.
In an all-India study by NCCR published earlier this year, Besant Nagar, which is a nesting area for olive ridley turtles, was one of the cleanest beaches in the country scientists found that the periodic cleaning of the beach has improved.
Researchers said after the beachgoers discard trash on the beach sands, it gets accumulated on the backshore or gets buried in the sand. Studies have shown plastic waste may alter turtle nesting behaviour, have a negative impact on the aesthetic appeal of the beaches and tourism and may also put beachgoers at risk.
Later at the event in NIOT, the Union minister said, “The unmanned mission has already gone beyond 7,000m. For the manned mission, the under-construction submersible has a target of going beyond 6,000m. I am going to see the progress of the construction with our scientists and engineers. I hope we will complete it on time,” he said.
“The litter collected included macro-sized single-use plastics such as cups, food containers and polythene bags. They were all in pieces, which could get stuck in the beach cleaning equipment. The plastic spoons and straws we used to find on the beach earlier were not there,” said Pravakar Mishra, NCCR scientist. NCCR has also conducted similar beach clean-up activity in 17 beaches on Thursday.
In an all-India study by NCCR published earlier this year, Besant Nagar, which is a nesting area for olive ridley turtles, was one of the cleanest beaches in the country scientists found that the periodic cleaning of the beach has improved.
Researchers said after the beachgoers discard trash on the beach sands, it gets accumulated on the backshore or gets buried in the sand. Studies have shown plastic waste may alter turtle nesting behaviour, have a negative impact on the aesthetic appeal of the beaches and tourism and may also put beachgoers at risk.
Later at the event in NIOT, the Union minister said, “The unmanned mission has already gone beyond 7,000m. For the manned mission, the under-construction submersible has a target of going beyond 6,000m. I am going to see the progress of the construction with our scientists and engineers. I hope we will complete it on time,” he said.
