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Marine Pollution Bulletin 72 (2013) 99–106
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Marine Pollution Bulletin
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/marpolbul
Influence of waste management policy on the characteristics of beach litter
in Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Ta-Kang Liu ⇑, Meng-Wei Wang, Ping Chen
Institute of Ocean Technology and Marine Affairs, National Cheng Kung University, 1 University Road, Tainan City 70101, Taiwan
a r t i c l e
i n f o
Keywords:
Transect survey
Economic instrument
Source reduction
Waste management
a b s t r a c t
Marine debris is a ubiquitous problem that poses a serious threat to the global oceans; it has motivated
public participation in clean-up campaigns, as well as governmental involvement in developing mitigation strategies. While it is known that the problem of marine litter may be affected by waste management
practices on land, beach survey results have seldom been compared with them. In this study, marine litter surveys on four beaches of Cijin Island were conducted to explore the effects of waste management
and policy implications. Indirect evidence shows that chances for land-based litter, such as plastic bags
and bottles, entering the marine environment can be greatly decreased if they can be properly reduced,
reused and recycled. We suggest that mitigation measures should focus on source reduction, waste recycling and management, utilizing effective economic instruments, and pursuing a long-term public education campaign to raise the public awareness of this problem.
Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
Beaches are important tourist attractions and contribute to
improving the quality of life. Clean beach is the main indicator of
coastal environmental quality. However, coastal regions are susceptible to litter accumulation, and marine litter has become a global problem. The presence of marine debris can negatively affect
the aesthetic appeal of beaches and reduce their recreational value
and tourism quality (Pendleton et al., 2001). The anthropogenic
marine litter is associated with diverse human activities and comes
from a wide variety of sources both onshore and offshore. It reduces the aesthetics of the beaches and also results in many undesired environmental consequences, such as increasing adverse
health risks, causing significant ecological changes, threatening
marine wildlife, leading to loss of biodiversity and inflicting fishery
loss (Chiappone et al., 2002; Derraik, 2002; Tudor and Williams,
2003; Abu-Hilal and Al-Najjar, 2004; Thompson et al., 2004; Cho,
2005; Tudor and Williams, 2008). Nearly 80% of the marine debris
comes from land-based sources, so the key to abating the problem
largely depends on effective measures of waste management on
land, since most trash has the potential to enter the ocean and become marine debris (Balas et al., 2004; US Ocean Commission,
2004; Hetherington et al., 2005). Monitoring marine debris is thus
extremely crucial in order to identify the sources of debris and then
implement the required effective control measures accordingly
⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +886 6 2757575x31146; fax: +886 6 2753364.
E-mail address: [email protected] (T.-K. Liu).
0025-326X/$ - see front matter Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2013.04.015
(Earll et al., 2000; Tudor and Williams, 2001; Balas et al., 2001).
Marine litter survey results can be used for beach management
purposes, and may lead to the establishment of national and international legislation for better waste management on land and at
sea. They can also stimulate the sense of responsibility to the environment and encourage public participation in the activities related to the maintenance of environmental quality, such as
coastal cleanup activities. It is important to know that raising public awareness of the overall quality of the coastal environment is
the only guaranteed way of reducing marine litter (Storrier and
McGlashan, 2006).
Many countries have established monitoring programs so the
results can be used for beach management and for establishing related regulatory measures. However, most of the survey results
were not compared to the land-based waste management policy.
The practice of waste management on land should have prevented
most of the litter from entering the marine environment, yet its
influence has seldom been discussed in the literature. Besides,
there has been no litter survey performed by academic researchers
in Taiwan, and volunteer-based beach cleanups held by communities and local non-governmental organizations generate relatively
few quantitative results. In this study, we performed a transect
survey during 2009–2011 to investigate the fluctuation of marine
litter on four selected beaches in Cijin, Kaohsiung in order to ascertain the type, material compositions, quantity and source of marine
debris. The results were compared with the literature and Taiwan’s
waste management on land to evaluate if the current practice has
any influences on the characteristics of the beach litter found in the
survey.
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T.-K. Liu et al. / Marine Pollution Bulletin 72 (2013) 99–106
(USEPA). NMDMP was conducted over a 5-year period between
2001 and 2006 along the coasts of the United States, representing
one of the most comprehensive and significant marine debris
assessment (Sheavly, 2007). Litter items were recorded precisely,
and items not shown on the predetermined data card were also
noted. The marine litter was categorized by its type of material
and source for litter generation activities. Statistical software packages SPSS and PRIMER v.6 were used for ANOVA and multivariate
analysis, respectively. The amount of marine litter and top 10 items
were then analyzed. Results of the litter survey were compared
with those found in the NMDMP as well as the literature from
other countries for detailed comparison. Document analysis was
used to review Taiwan’s waste management practice on land; its
influence on the litter found in the survey was then discussed.
2. Methods
This study was carried out at Cijin Island of Kaohsiung in the
southwest coast of Taiwan. Four beaches were surveyed every
2 months during the periods: August 2009–June 2010, and December 2010–October 2011. The locations of the four sites are shown
in Fig. 1, where Sites 1 and 2, Cijin coastal park and tourist center,
respectively, are popular recreational sites that are typically
crowded with tourists. Sites 3 and 4, near a municipal wastewater
treatment plant and a ship container distributing center, respectively, are more remote beaches. A transect survey similar to those
found in the literature was used (Silva et al., 2008; Oigman-Pszczol
and Creed, 2007; Storrier et al., 2007; Sheavly, 2007; Silva-Iniguez
and Fisher, 2003; Williams et al., 2003). A 100 m 5 m transect
strip above the high-tide mark parallel to the coastline was chosen
at random in each site. The coordinates of each site were recorded
via a global positioning system (GPS) to allow the subsequent survey in the same stretch of beach, and for use in possible GIS mapping. To evaluate the composition and abundance of beach litter,
all the visible pieces of man-made debris found on each sampling
site were identified and recorded in a standardized data card modified from the one used in the National Marine Debris Monitoring
Program (NMDMP) of the US Environmental Protection Agency
3. Characterization of beach litter in Cijin Island
3.1. Results of Cijin beach litter survey
Fig. 2 shows the total items collected in each transect survey. In
the study, we collected 23,264 items of beach litter, for an overall
mean litter density of 0.90 items per square meter. All sites in Cijin
are likely to be influenced by similar meso-scale oceanographic
2505000
2503000
Ka
o
hs
iun
site1
2501000
r
jin
Ci
site2
gH
ar b
ou
a
Isl
nd
2499000
site3
2497000
site4
2750000
2700000
2650000
2495000
2600000
2550000
2500000
meter
2450000
2493000
171000
100000 150000 200000 250000 300000 350000
173000
0
175000
1000
2000
177000
3000
4000
179000
181000
183000
Fig. 1. Location of the survey sites in Cijin Island, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. The coordinates are TWD67 Huzishan 2-degree wide Transverse Mercator projection.
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T.-K. Liu et al. / Marine Pollution Bulletin 72 (2013) 99–106
3,500
2,000
9,047
7,987
Marine Debris items
3,000
Marine Debris items
no. mean
no. sum
2,500
2,000
1,500
1,000
10,000
1,600
8,000
1,200
6,000
800
3,028
3,202
400
4,000
2,000
500
0
0
Site 1
0
Site 2
Site 3
Site 4
Fig. 3. Total and average marine debris items collected on each site in the transect
survey in Cijin Island, Kaohsiung.
Fig. 2. The total items collected in each transect survey during 2009–2011 in Cijin
Island, Kaohsiung.
events, such as: prevailing winds, cold fronts and tidal currents.
During the northeast monsoon season, typically between late fall
and early spring, strong and steady northeast winds prevail in Taiwan. Since repeated surveys were conducted at various sites and
times, a two-way ANOVA (see Table 1) was performed to interpret
the temporal and spatial variations of the debris collected. From
Table 1, it can be seen that spatial variation is significant at
p < 0.05 level, while monthly or seasonal variation is not statistically pronounced. It is likely that spatial variation can be attributed
to other factors, such as coastal activities that may be important in
the fluctuation of debris in this surveys. Survey No. 2 has the highest number of debris items, 3227. This is probably due to the impact of Typhoon Morakot on August 8, 2009 which brought the
worst-ever record breaking rainfall that many weather stations
registered the precipitation intensity over a flood frequency of
2000 years (Doong et al., 2011). More than 1 million tons of driftwood were cleaned up after Morakot, much of it piled up on the
coast for several months (COA, 2010). Survey No. 2 was originally
scheduled in early October but was postponed to October 19, until
much of the driftwood was removed and sampling sites could be
accessed. Survey No. 12 was performed right after the warning of
Typhoon Nanmadol was lifted. Although Nanmadol was more severe than Morakot in typhoon scale, the debris items recorded
were 1744, very close to the mean value of 1790 during the 2-year
study. Therefore, the impact of typhoons on the beach debris is
very complicated since mixed results are shown in this study.
Fig. 3 shows the total and average debris items collected on
each site. Sites 1 and 2 had 9047 and 7987 items, respectively. Sites
1 and 2 are popular tourist attractions where beachgoers enjoy a
lot of recreactional activities. These two sites account for 73.2%
of debris items, relatively higher than the combined number for
Sites 3 and 4. Site 3 is in front of the municipal waste water treatment plant of Kaohsiung, a place most people would avoid visiting.
This may explain why Site 3 had the least amount of debris
Table 1
Results of two-way ANOVA for the transect survey.
Factor
Site
Time
Site time
*
Significant at p < 0.05 level.
collected among the four sites, i.e. 3028 items, accounting for
13% of the total. In general, Fig. 3 shows that human’s coastal activities are an important contributing factor to the beach litter in
Cijin.
In this study, marine litter was categorized into eight types
according to its composition: general plastic, paper, nylon, rubber,
glass, polystyrene foam (PSF), metals, and others. Fig. 4 presents
the proportions of types of litter in this study. Plastics in a broad
sense (78.3%), including general plastic (55%), PSF fragment
(20.6%), nylon (1.4%), and rubber (1.3%), were the most common
litter type recorded. Other litter types recorded less frequently included paper (10.3%), glass (1.8%), metals (0.5%), and others (9.2%).
The abundance of PSF in Cijin seems rare since it is not readily
noted in most of the marine debris surveys cited in the references
of the article. By examining the size and shape of the PSF fragments
collected in this study, it can be recognized that they were
originally used as floating devices in fishing gear, beverage cups,
protective wrapping of fruit, and cushion like materials. Ocean
Conservancy categorizes the marine debris item into five
groupings: shoreline and recreational activities, ocean/waterway
activities, smoking-related activities, dumping activities, and medical/personal hygiene, in the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC)
events since 2001. The groupings are related to debris-producing
activities and sources that identify the behavior associated with
the debris’ presence (OC, 2010). Principal components analysis
Others, 9.2%
Metal, 0.5%
Glass, 1.8%,
Paper, 10.3%
PSF fragment,
20.6%
General
plastics, 55.0%
Rubber, 1.3%
Nylon, 1.4%
p-Value
Time = month
Time = season
0.042*
0.921
0.861
0.037*
0.745
0.808
General plastics
PSF fragment
Metal
Nylon
Paper
Others
Rubber
Glass
Fig. 4. The proportions of types of litter in the transect survey in Cijin Island,
Kaohsiung.
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(PCA) was applied to show spatial differences for the marine debris
collected. Fig. 5 presents the ordination of sampling sites based on
ICC categories and debris type. In Fig. 5a, principal component (PC)
1 and 2 explained 93.6% and 6.2% of the variability, respectively. On
PC 1, the southern Sites 3 and 4 were clearly separated from the
northern Sites 1 and 2. Ocean/waterway activities (OW), shoreline
and recreational activities (SR), and dumping activities (DP) were
the highest negative loads on PC1, while the influence on PC2
was less pronounced. In Fig. 5b, PC 1 and PC 2 explained 84.0%
and 15.7% of the variability, respectively. The separation of the
southern Sites 3 and 4 from other two sites according to the type
of debris was also obvious. Site 1 with a high number of general
plastic items is positioned in the positive part of PC2 and Site 2
with a high number of polystyrene foam items is located on the
negative part of PC2.
(a)
3.2. Comparison with other litter surveys
Table 2 compares the top 10 debris items in this study with
those in NMDMP. It can be seen that the top 3 debris items in Cijin
were plastic fragment, PSF fragments, and straw, which was
noticeably different from the results in NMDMP. The top 10 debris
items account for 83.1% and 80.4% for the total items collected in
NMDMP and this study, respectively. Among the top 10 items collected in Cijin, PSF, plastic fragments, sponge, bottle caps, wasted
construction materials, and fireworks caps and stems were not
shown in the top 10 of NMDMP. The 10th item in MNDMP, i.e. cotton swabs, was not shown in Cijin at all during the 2-year study.
The only common items shown in both study were straw and plastic bags. In this study, 7 out of the top 10 debris item came from
land-based sources, while in NMDMP only 4 items out of the top
1000
Site 2
OW
Site 4
0
Site 3
SM
PC2
Site 1
MP
SR
-1000
DP
-2000
-2000
-1000
0
1000
2000
PC1
(b)
1000
Site 1
Site 4
Site 3
GPT
0
PC2
PAP
RBB MET
NL
GLA
Site 2
-1000
OTR
PSF
-2000
-2000
-1000
0
1000
2000
PC1
Fig. 5. PCA ordination of sampling sites and variable vectors. Variables involved (a) ICC category: shoreline and recreational activities (SR), ocean/waterway activities (OW),
smoking-related activities (SR), dumping activities (DP), and medical/personal hygiene (MP); and (b) type of debris: general plastic (GPT), paper (PAP), nylon (NL), rubber
(RBB), glass (GLA), polystyrene foam (PSF), metals (MET), and others (OTR).
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T.-K. Liu et al. / Marine Pollution Bulletin 72 (2013) 99–106
Table 2
Comparison of the top 10 debris items found in this study with those in the NMDMP.
Rank
Top 10 marine litter in NMDMP
Top 10 marine litter in this study
Item
Percentage (%)
Items
Percentage (%)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Straws
Plastic beverage bottles
Plastic bags (<1 m)
Balloons
Metal beverage cans
Rope (>1 m)
Plastic bottles
Other plastic bottles
Fishing line
Cotton swabs
27.5
13.0
9.0
7.8
7.4
5.5
4.6
3.4
3.4
2.7
Plastic fragment
PSF fragment
Straw
Cigarette filter
Bottle cap
Plastic bag
Construction
Sponge
Fireworks caps
Fireworks stems
25.5
19.0
10.1
5.1
4.8
4.5
4.3
3.0
2.8
1.7
Total
84.2
Marine Debris percentage
100%
Medical/personal
hygiene
90%
Dumping
80%
Smoking-related
Ocean/waterway
70%
Shoreline and
recreational
60%
50%
This study
2010 ICC
Fig. 6. Comparison of the transect survey in this study with 2010 ICC survey
according to the five-grouping category.
10 are from land-based sources. This comparison shows a distinguishable pattern of the main debris items between the coast in
Taiwan and United States, which is probably due to different life
styles, cultures, coastal activities and waste management practices.
80.8
Fig. 6 compares this study with the 2010 ICC event according to
the five-grouping category. It can be seen that shoreline and recreational activities (64.3%) is the highest debris-producing activity
among all of the others in this study, implying that visitors play
an important role in debris generation. This is in agreement with
Fig. 3, that Sites 1 and 2, with more beachgoers, have more debris
items than the other two sites. The differences between this study
and the 2010 ICC are that more ocean activity and less smoking-related activities are noted in this study (OC, 2010). The higher proportion of marine litter coming from ocean activity indicates that
the surveyed area may have more fishing activities.
Table 3 compares the composition of debris items with those
found in other researches. It can be seen that plastic debris remains
the top category. The second category for the debris varied for
most the studies. It is paper in this study (10.3%) and Orange
County, California (24.9%); metal in Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil
(18%); glass in Queensland beach, Australia (6.4%); or other uncategorized debris (Oigman-Pszczol and Creed, 2007; White, 2006;
Moore et al., 2001). People in different regions may have different
habits and coastal activities, and therefore variations found in Table 3 can be attributed to life style diversity in the survey areas.
Nonetheless, it is obvious that plastic debris presents a severe
ubiquitous problem around the world.
Table 3
Comparison of the composition of debris items in this study with those found in other researches.
a
Location
Plastics (%)
Paper (%)
Glass (%)
Metal (%)
Other (%)
References
This study
Cassino beach, S. Brazil
Dutch coast
Firth of Forth, Scotland
Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil
Queensland beach
Gulf of Oman
Coast of Japan sea
Orange County, California, US
78.3a
57.6
67
54.2
64
89.7
61.8
92.9
66.2
10.3
17.2
8
4.7
6
0.5
2.1
1.0
24.9
1.8
1.3
4
9.4
3
6.4
2.7
2.2
1.6
0.5
1.6
6
5.5
18
3.2
3.4
1.0
5.2
9.2
22.3
15
26.3
9
0.2
29.9
2.4
2.1
This study
Tourinho and Fillmann (2011)
Gorycka (2009)
Storrier et al. (2007)
Oigman-Pszczol and Creed (2007)
White (2006)
Claereboudt (2004)
Kusui and Noda (2003)
Moore et al. (2001)
Including polystyrene foam (20.6%), rubber (1.3%), nylon (1.4%), and other general plastics (55.0%).
Table 4
Comparison of some specific debris items found between NMDMP and this study that may have policy implications.
Debris item
NMDMP
Plastic bags
Plastic bag < 1 m; 9.1%
Plastic bag > 1 m; 1.4%
10.5%
This study
Plastic bag fragment
4.5%
Plastic bottles
Plastic beverage bottles; 13%
Plastic food bottles; 3.5%
Other plastic bottles; 3.4%
19.9%
Plastic caps; 4.8%
Plastic bottles; 1.9%
Plastic cups; 0.3%
7.0%
Metal
Beverage cans
7.4%
Beverage cans
0.1%
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T.-K. Liu et al. / Marine Pollution Bulletin 72 (2013) 99–106
4. Influence of waste management policy
4.1. Plastic Restriction Policy and Compulsory Trash-sorting Policy
It is noted in this study that waste management policy on land
may influence the marine debris pattern found in the beach litter
survey. Table 4 compares some of the policy-related debris items
found between NMDMP and this study. It is noted that plastic bags
are 10.5% and 4.5%, respectively; plastic bottles are 19.9% and 7.0%,
respectively; and metal beverage cans are 7.4% and 0.1%, respectively, for NMDMP and this study. These three types of wastes
are significantly fewer in number of items in this study, which is
likely due to the two waste management policies in Taiwan, i.e.
the policy on restricting the use of plastic shopping bags and disposable plastic tableware (as known as ‘‘Plastic Restriction Policy’’)
and the Compulsory Trash-sorting Policy.
According to the 2001 environmental statistics of Taiwan’s
Environmental Protection Agency (TEPA), plastics accounted for
21.1% of household garbage (TEPA, 2001). In 2002, TEPA started
to implement the Plastic Restriction Policy under the Waste Disposal Act in order to prohibit the use of plastic shopping bags
and disposable plastic tableware in all government agencies and
public facilities. Three years after the policy was implemented,
72% of shoppers carry recyclable shopping bags compared to only
20% prior to the policy. The reduction in the use of plastic shopping
bags is approximately 2 billion, corresponding to about 58% of
source reduction (TEPA, 2012). The 2011 TEPA annual report indicates that plastics account for 15.7% of household garbage, showing a significant reduction compared to the 21.1% in 2001 (TEPA,
2011). Although this is not direct evidence, the policy helps to explain why the number of plastic bags is lower in this study (4.5%)
compared to NMDMP’s 10.5% (see Table 4).
The TEPA 2002 Resource Recycling Act required that public
places should provide recycling bins to hold resources before they
are taken to recycling centers. In 2005, TEPA started to implement
the Compulsory Trash-sorting Policy under the Resource Recycling
Trash (kg) per capita per day)
(a)
1
0.9
0.83
083
0.8
0.75
0.71
0.67
0.6
0.6
0.58
0.52 0.5 0.48
0.4
0.2
0
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Percent Recycleing
(b)
50%
42.0%
38.7%
40%
48.8%
45.5%
35.4%
31.1%
31.4% 31.6%
32.5% 33.3% 33.2% 33.8% 34.0%
30%
29.4%
24.0%
20%
20.1%
10%
USA
Taiwan
0%
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
Fig. 7. Municipal solid waste management statistics: (a) wastes generated per
capita per day in Taiwan; and (b) percent recycling for Taiwan and USA.
Act, requiring that the general public needs to sort the garbage into
three categories: food waste, resources and general waste. In order
to help people practice trash sorting, the personnel of curbside
waste collection vehicle randomly check the contents of the garbage bag prior to collection. A penalty of 1200–6000 NT ($40–
$200) is charged for unsorted trash bags. Through implementing
various policies under the Resource Recycling Act, including Compulsory Trash-sorting Policy, the waste disposal rate was reduced
from 0.9 kg per capita in 2001 to 0.48 kg per capita in 2010 (see
Fig. 7a). When comparing the recycling ratio in Taiwan and the
US in 2010 (see Fig. 7b), it can be seen that the ratios are 48.8%
and 34.1%, respectively (TEPA, 2011; USEPA, 2010). The recycling
ratio has greatly increased from 20.1% in 2003 to 48.8% in 2010,
while the values have not changed much for the US. Containers
made of iron, aluminum, glass, and plastic, which are commonly
found during a beach transect survey, are all mandatory recyclable
items under the 2002 Resource Recycling Act. In Table 4, the recyclable resources found during the survey are: plastic caps, bottles,
cups and metal beverage cans, representing 7.1% of total debris
items, while the recyclables are 27.3% in the NMDMP, a much higher proportion than those collected in this study. The 2002 Resource
Recycling Act and Compulsory Trash-sorting Policy cultivated the
trash sorting practice among the general public in Taiwan; this
seems to explain why the recyclable waste presents a significant
lower percentage of the debris found in this study.
4.2. Problem of wastes from fishing activities
In this study, PSF fragments represent 20.6% of the debris collected. The PSF fragments seem to have originated from the PSF
floats used in oyster culture fisheries. Oyster farming fishery is a
major type of aquaculture in the southwestern coast of Taiwan
(FA, 2011). The floating culture system, i.e. raft culture supported
by PSF floats to maintain buoyancy, is the main method used to
grow oysters. Most of the PSF fragments can be recognized as bits
broken off the PSF floats used in oyster farming. However, this fishery is absent in Cijin Island, and the closest existing one is in Tainan
City, approximately 60 km north of Cijin, Kaohsiung. The PSF debris
has been a problem in the coast of Tainan where the torn culture
rafts and PSF floats were waste on the sites every year after the
harvest of oysters, typically in the late summer. In order to alleviate this problem, ‘‘Oyster Farming Management Regulations’’ was
promulgated in Tainan to address the derelict fishing gear (DFG)
problem. In this regulatory regime, the floating culture systems
are required to be stamped with identification marks and all the
rafts, PSF floats and wastes after harvest should be collected and
brought to the designation areas for disposal. Oyster culture systems that do not have recognizable identification marks are discarded by the regulations. The ordinance does not provide
desirable results, mostly due to relatively low penalties for noncompliance and weak enforcement of the provisions. The penalty
for violators who failed to bring the wasted culture systems to
the designation area is only 1000 NT ($33) per raft (Wang, 2010).
The ordinance does not cause any deterrent effects it was intended
to since most fishers decided not to bring the wasted rafts and PSF
floats back to the designated areas; therefore, the problem remained after the implementation of the regulations. Disposal of
these wastes after harvesting the oysters resulted in a devastated
coast full with PSF wastes in Tainan, and even affected the bordering areas such as Cijin Island.
In order to resolve the problem of wasted PSF fragments found
in this study, a better management approach for the oyster culture
fisheries in Tainan is necessary. For example, the provisions should
be strictly enforced and the penalty should be increased to a level
that can induce compliance. In addition to trying other useful economic instruments, substitutes to replace or improve the PSF as a
T.-K. Liu et al. / Marine Pollution Bulletin 72 (2013) 99–106
floating device are an alternative option. It is necessary for the substitutes to be more weathering resistant without compromising
the original floating function. Some examples are biodegradable
plastic tubes, compacted foam materials, recycled waste tires,
and PSF wrapped with canvas. The improved durability and integrity of the substitute may ease the efforts of maintenance for noncompliance since it is not likely for them to break up and spread
out when weathered.
4.3. Policy implication and future management efforts
In the Fifth International Marine Debris Conference, the Honolulu Strategy was formulated: it aimed to address the issue of marine debris at the global, national and local levels (UNEP/NOAA,
2011). The Honolulu Strategy aimed to ‘‘develop, strengthen, and
enact legislation and policies to support solid waste minimization
and management’’. The waste hierarchy (i.e. reduce, reuse and recycle, in the order of importance) classifies waste management
strategies according to their desirability (Kreith and Tchobanoglous, 2002). If the wastes can be properly reduced, reused and recycled, the chance for them to enter the marine environment can be
greatly abated. In this study, policies under Taiwan’s Waste Disposal Act and Resource Recycling Act show the indirect result that
improved solid waste management can alleviate the problems of
marine debris. However, the volumes of trash that keep appearing
on beaches indicate that there is still room for better solid waste
management. It is possible that a lack of consistent monitoring
and identification of sources of debris may hamper the implementation of effective control measures for source reduction (US Ocean
Commission, 2004). Monitoring helps policy-makers to design
management measures that address the most prevalent forms of
debris, as well as those that cause the most harmful effects in
the marine environment. In addition, the comprehensive enforcement of policies and regulations concerning individual behavior
would be impractical: it is necessary to pursue a long-term education campaign for the general public in order to guide people and
communities regarding the correct way to dispose of waste. Education campaigns should also extend to target specific stakeholders
that are prone to generate marine debris, such as coastal recreational operators, packaging companies and the fishing industry,
such as Tainan’s oyster culture fishery in this study.
Product modification and improvement is one of the important
methods for the source reduction of wastes (Kreith and Tchobanoglous, 2002). In this study, it is noted that plastic caps contribute
4.8% of the debris collected, while plastic bottles are only 1.9%. It
seems that while plastic bottles are recycled as resources, the plastic caps somehow are neglected and released into the environment
since they are relatively small. Moore (2003) shows that bottle
caps are visible inside the decomposed carcasses of albatrosses
on Kure Atoll in the North Pacific. Jordon (2012) shows in a documentary that a large volume of plastic caps ends up in the remote
uninhabited Midway Island where many albatrosses mistakenly
ingest them as food, suffer, and die. In the 1970s, the pull-tab
opening method for metal beverage can was widely popular. A significant problem rose as people would frequently discard the pulltabs on the ground as litter. The invention of the push-tab opening
mechanism in the 1980s solved the problem since the non-removing stay-on-tab prevented the tabs from littering. Bottle caps represent a significant marine debris problem in this study as well as
around the world. In order to prevent bottle caps from being released into the environment, the caps should be redesigned as an
integral part of the bottle and recycled along with the bottles as
well, similar to the stay-on-tab in metal beverage cans.
Currently, the cleanup of the marine debris largely relies on parties who do not cause the problem, typically volunteers or coastal
maintenance authorities. There is insufficient liability to the pol-
105
luters who are responsible for generating the marine debris. In order to compensate for the economic costs associated with marine
debris, the development and implementation of economic instruments seem to provide opportunities for addressing the problem
(ten Brink et al., 2009). These instruments include extended producer responsibility fees, deposit refunds, waste collection taxes
and recycled product tax rebates (UNEP/NOAA, 2011). The goal of
applying an economic instrument is to change the behavior of
coastal users regarding the correct handling and disposal of their
wastes. For the DFG problem in Tainan, the current implemented
economic instrument does not achieve the desirable results. The
negative impacts associated with the problem justify trying other
useful economic instruments that can reduce this DFG problem.
Economic incentives may encourage the cleanup of wasted materials with deposit refund value. Tainan’s government can impose
such a deposit refund program for the oyster culture systems.
The deposit can only be refunded when the DFG wastes are collected and brought to the designated areas. The penalty collected
for non-compliance can serve as a fund for the maintenance of
beach cleanness and enforcement of the regulations. It is believed
that using such an incentive program to promote compliance can
support waste minimization. However, it may not incentivize
long-term sustainable behavior of coastal users (Cho, 2009). Pursuing a long-term education campaign is still necessary to correct the
individual behavior of waste handling.
5. Conclusion
In this study, it can be seen that the marine debris survey in Cijin Island is significantly different from NMDMP in terms of the
collected items and its distribution pattern, which can be attributed to differences in coastal activities, cultural style, habits in
waste handing, and policy of waste management on land. By comparing foreign management experiences and litter characteristics,
we conclude with some management implication and strategy
for alleviating the marine litter problem. Although marine debris
is a global issue, its adverse effects typically cause impacts at the
local level and require local involvement. Greater involvement
with local governments and partnerships with communities and
industry will also help to reduce marine debris. It should be noted
that the cleanup activities cannot eliminate marine litter. Mitigation measures should focus on source reduction, wastes recycling
and management, and the pursuit of a long-term commitment to
public education and outreach to raise the public awareness of this
problem. Finally, the adverse impacts associated with marine debris warrant the time, monitoring, research and resources it may
take to alleviate this form of marine pollution.
Acknowledgments
This article was made possible by the funding from National
Science Council contract NSC-99-2221-E-006-254. The authors
are grateful for their financial support.
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