One hundred thousand plastic caps on Dutch beaches

The Plastic Soup is receiving a lot of international attention. But what about our own North Sea? It is estimated that twenty thousand tonnes of waste are dumped annually, including a lot of plastic. Evidence of this can be found on our beaches: it is estimated that there are one hundred thousand plastic caps there alone. And it is not getting any better.

This is shown by an estimate from the North Sea Foundation (Stichting De Noordzee), which has been counting waste on Dutch beaches for over ten years. After ten years, you would expect beach waste to decrease with more awareness among beachgoers, governments and businesses. Nothing could be further from the truth. The North Sea Foundation notes that the amount of waste on the beach is still the same as ten years ago.

Four times a year, the foundation conducts waste counts on our beaches. Light bulbs, car parts, deflated balloons, plastic bags and bottles can all be found there. It comes from everywhere, from Europe to North America and Asia, but also from Dutch beachgoers.

IMARES also conducts research into litter on the beaches and in the North Sea. Among other things, by looking at the stomach contents of the Northern fulmar. Almost all birds examined (95 percent) have plastic in their stomach, much more than a few years ago. That is why IMARES also speaks of the 'Dutch Soup'. The institute estimates that 70 percent of the twenty thousand tonnes of waste dumped at sea sinks to the bottom, 15 percent remains floating and the remaining 15 percent ends up on the beach. There, it can mix with the rubbish left behind by beachgoers.

The fact that the beaches often look clean is because coastal municipalities clean them with great regularity for tourism.

The plastic caps clearly show that a large part of the waste consists of beverage packaging. A large part of this waste can be prevented through better measures. Such as introducing deposits on small bottles, for example.

Of course, the most important thing remains that beachgoers and skippers do not simply throw their own rubbish on the beach and overboard.

Links:

North Sea Foundation

IMARES

Compendium for the Environment

The Plastic Soup is receiving a lot of international attention. But what about our own North Sea? It is estimated that twenty thousand tonnes of waste are dumped annually, including a lot of plastic. Evidence of this can be found on our beaches: it is estimated that there are one hundred thousand plastic caps there alone. And it is not getting any better.