Gillian Keller
A DAMNING study has found that 50% of the Med’s beach plastic ‘comes from tourists.’
The project by Blueislands compared plastic and other waste on three different beaches on eight different islands.
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It found that 80% of beach litter was plastic, with tourism ‘directly’ accounting for 50% of the plastics.
On each island the researchers looked at a busy tourist beach, a less popular locals beach and one almost ‘untouched’.
In Mallorca, Calvia’s Playa de Tora, Es Caragol, near Santanyi, and the natural beach of Sa Canova near Arta, were studied.
Rubbish, including micro-plastics and small particles, was collected, catalogued and analysed at intervals throughout the year.
Other islands in the study included Mykonos, Malta, Crete and Sicily.
Where did the other 50 percent come from?
Around here it is plastic sheeting from plastic greenhouses left to rot.