Trashing China's beaches

Silver Beach, Beihai, in the Guanxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, has often been dubbed "China's No.1 beach," but at the beginning of this month silver gave way to shades of grey and brown, as almost 60 tons of garbage washed up along the shoreline.

Alongside natural waste such as seashells, seaweed and dead crabs, rubbish dotted the site, turning Silver Beach into a land of garbage. Plastic bags, beer bottles, shattered glass and bamboo sticks used for barbecues were seen piled up in the middle and eastern areas of the beach, thanks to southwestern monsoons that drove the trash from the ocean onto land.

Last year alone, an estimated 1,800 tons of garbage was found on the beach, according to Yin Fengzhang, environment management director with the Management Office of Beihai Silver Beach Tourist Area. He said that Silver Beach had to hire 55 sanitary workers, operating in three groups, to collect garbage. "The scenic spot had to spend about 800,000 yuan ($129,257) on sanitary workers and trucks for collecting garbage."

This rubbish is just part of a broader picture - China's coastal areas are increasingly suffering from maritime pollution as scenic spots and local environments are threatened.

Beihai provides a good example of the issues faced by coastal areas across China, said Chen Changrong, director of the Policy, Regulation and Planning Section of Beihai's Oceanic Administration Bureau, who boasts 25 years of experience on maritime issues.

He said that Beihai is located in the Beibu Gulf area, where large-scale industries are still in their infancy, so the maritime pollution the city faces is actually less severe than in other coastal cities.

What's most concerning is how rapidly the quantities of garbage floating in the ocean is increasing - approximately doubling within the space of a year.

An official report on the maritime environment issued in 2012 showed that floating chunks of rubbish on supervised swimming areas off the country's coastal cities averaged 17 pieces per kilometer in 2011, and the number more than doubled to 37 in 2012.

Meanwhile, the national average density of garbage on beaches around the nation was 1,114 kilograms per square kilometer in 2011, and jumped to 2,494 kilograms per square kilometer last year.

Human activity to blame

According to the 2012 national report on marine environment quality, 87 percent of garbage floating on the surface of the sea was a result of human behavior, and that rate reaches 94 percent when it comes to beaches.

Experts note that an obvious source of the garbage is tourists, who often leave litter such as plastic bags, bottles and snack-boxes at tourist destinations by the sea. On Silver Beach, for instance, tourists can be seen throwing napkins away, largely ignoring the garbage bins available.

A local trader at Silver Beach surnamed Su said that even during off seasons, the beach is filled with rubbish from tourists.

Meanwhile, rain and rivers inevitably carry garbage into oceans, contributing to the increasing elements of nitrogen and phosphorus in the waters. This results in the growing quantity of seaweed, which adds an extra burden to the management of tourist sites once it arrives onshore due to monsoons.

"In the past few years, Silver Beach turned into a big 'Green Beach' several times due to seaweed," said Yin Fengzhang.

Another source of pollution is garbage from local residents, hotels in coastal areas and ships operating on the sea waters, said Peng Zaiqing, director with Beihai's maritime management bureau.

Curbing pollution

Garbage in the ocean poses potential threats to sailing, damages seaside views and has a negative impact on the marine eco-system, said Peng.

"Maritime garbage is constantly on the move, and is therefore likely to be spread around the world, which is why there is an urgent need for it to be curbed and treated," he said.

Peng suggested that government bodies enhance public awareness of marine environment protection, calling on radio and television media outlets to promote environmentally-friendly behavior among the public.

"The State Oceanic Administration Bureau should publicize the maritime environment quality report on a regular basis so that the public realizes the seriousness of marine pollution," he added.

Peng also suggested raising the awareness of residents living on ships, as some litter on a daily basis at harbors, which directly pollutes waters.

"For instance, having garbage bins along harbors and putting up posters to educate fishermen about the importance of protecting the marine environment can be quite efficient," he said.

The bureau director said that dealing with marine pollution would be a complicated task, which will require a coordinated effort between various departments.

Peng suggested setting up a mechanism where various departments, cities or even provinces work together to supervise industries along inland rivers so that rubbish can be curbed at its source.

Xu Haiou, president of a volunteer organization for environmental protection in Beihai, said government bodies could work with organizations such as his, and call on the public to clean up the garbage, which would help them understand the difficulties faced by coastal areas.