How to Keep Beaches Clean

Start with some data and memorize it. A cigarette butt : about 5 years. A banana peel: two years . A lighter: 100 to 1000 years. A paper tissue: no less than three months . These are just a few examples of the disposal times for items that are very frequently abandoned on beaches. An uncivilized act, and a huge waste, for everyone, and not just for the environment around us. A waste we can avoid by starting with the simplest things, those that each of us can do.

Index of topics

Plastic

We must also be careful not to let it enter the water. Plastic takes a long time to break down in the environment. Furthermore, and this is the main reason not to leave plastic waste on the beach, animals could mistake bags or bottle caps for food and ingest them. This could cause them to suffocate.

Cigarette butts

Smokers should be aware that a single cigarette butt pollutes 1 square meter of beach. Furthermore, if you leave your lighter in the sand, it takes over 100 years to break down. Bringing an ashtray or container to dispose of cigarette butts might be a good solution.

Sun creams

Sunscreens , while useful in protecting us from the sun's rays, are harmful to the marine ecosystem. This is because they dissolve in the water when we bathe. We should try to choose sunscreens with a good INCI ( Ingredient List) and avoid applying them immediately before bathing.

Eco-sustainable showers

When we shower on the beach, we avoid shampoo and shower gel , which could contain pollutants. Fresh water is enough to remove salt from the skin.

Bonfire on the beach

A very common custom is to roast meat and vegetables on the sand. There's often a pine forest behind the beach. Let's try to respect the surrounding environment.

Souvenir

Shells, grains of sand, hermit crabs. It's best to leave all the animals and plants we find where they are: they're part of the ecosystem.

Gita in barca

If you're going on a boat trip, respect the rules and don't arrive on the shore with the engine running . Check the current regulations for boats beforehand.

Urla

Don't shout, don't play loud music, and try to be respectful and polite. Beaches are home to birds and often protected species that could be disturbed by your noise.

Don't fish

Shore fishing is prohibited, and many spearfishing and trawling practices are completely illegal. Check before diving.

Pets

If you have pets , remember that on many beaches they cannot be taken outside designated areas. Always check before venturing onto the beaches with your four-legged friends. Also, remember to bring appropriate poop collection tools.

Dirty beaches

If you read the study that the European Commission commissioned from Arcadis to understand who pollutes the Mediterranean sea and beaches and how, you'll make some very interesting discoveries. The first: unlike the oceans, which are polluted by garbage arriving from Asia and Africa, in the Mediterranean we produce the waste on the beaches . It doesn't come from far away, but from the hands of local residents or tourists. Uncivilized people , in both cases.

Beach pollution

A second interesting discovery: despite a monstrous figure, a truly abnormal waste— 701 pieces of litter per 100 meters of beach —the largest proportion of items abandoned on beaches, destined to end up in the sea, are plastic food containers and tableware (17 percent). We use the beach like a diner, without even bothering with the simplest of efforts: taking a container and placing it in a trash can. Unfortunately, the coronavirus has frozen the entire process of eliminating plastic, especially for this type of food-related product, and so we can only hope that greater attention will be paid in this year of "everyone in Italy" holidays.

Waste Management

Third discovery: after plastic trays and dishes, there are, in that order, cigarette filters (14 percent), bottle caps (14 percent), bags (5 percent), and cotton buds (5 percent). Here's a useful tip if you happen to encounter a marine polluter. Imagine a guy taking a cigarette butt and sticking it in the sand. Approach him, and politely ask the following question: "Excuse me, but would you do this at home?"

Beaches filthy with plastic

Statistics clearly show that our beaches are filthy, primarily with plastic , the kind of plastic we should be using less and disposing of more effectively to allow for reuse. Adding to the environmental damage is economic waste: in Europe, on average, over €400 million is spent annually to clean beaches of various types of waste abandoned by holidaymakers. And despite regulations, directives, and fines, we can only appeal to our civic sense, without which we will never see cleaner seas and beaches.

What are the most polluted beaches in Italy?

In every region, some beaches are more polluted than others, where the amount of waste is greater. And where the environmental risks for beachgoers increase. Legambiente has done a good job of field surveying, and here you can find the results of the most polluted beaches in Italy, region by region.

How to Keep Beaches Clean: A Handbook