THE 86% OF THE TRASH COLLECTED FROM THE COSTS OF BUENOS AIRES IS PLASTIC
Recently there was a meeting between organizations of the “Red de Ambientalistas Costeros” to clean the coast of some locations in Buenos Aires province. 54 volunteers collected 9953 residues from a 56.900 m2 area, which is similar to about 215 tennis courts. This took place in the coast of San Clemente, Las Toninas, Santa Teresita, Mar del Tuyú, Costa del Este, San Bernardo and Mar de Ajó.
The conclusion was that the 86% of the plastic trash was conformed mostly by cigarette butts (30,1%), fragments (16,3%), packages (10,3%), bags (9,3%) and bottle caps (6,88%). The other 14% found during the cleaning was a mix of glass, metals, paper and cardboard.
This problem is not only dangerous to the environment but also to the animals living there, which consume that trash. A report published by the Fundación Mundo Marino shows that the 97% of the marine turtles studied had plastic in their stomachs.
We need to become aware of this huge problem. According to the ONU, between 8 and 13 million tons of plastic ends in the oceans every year. This is the same as throwing a trash track to the sea for minute.
