Plastic pollution of the beaches of urban and suburban water bodies of Minsk
T.I. KUKHARCHIK, S.V. KAKAREKA, A.A. MELESHKO, S.V. SALIVONCHIK, M.L. SINITSKAYA
Institute of Nature Management, National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Minsk, Belarus
Keywords: reservoir, recreation area, soils, waste, polymeric materials, macroplastics
Abstract
One of the sources of plastic pollution in the coastal zones of water bodies and watercourses are places of mass public recreation. The article presents the results of the study and assessment of the level of macroplastic pollution of the beaches of urban and suburban water bodies of Minsk. Taking into account international experience, methodological approaches to identifying and quantifying plastic waste and/or its fragments have been defined and tested. Field studies were conducted in the summer of 2024 on the beaches of several reservoirs in Minsk and its suburbs (Tsnyanskoe, Drozdy, Vyacha, Zaslavskoe, Volkovichskoe) and Lake Komsomolskoe using the route and site methods. Plastics larger than 5 mm (macroplastics) were counted. In total, 16 beaches were surveyed using the route method and 31 sites were established. It has been revealed that a wide range of macroplastics, represented primarily by fragments of products (scraps, debris, films, etc.) up to 5 cm in size, are found on all beaches. A wide variability in the content of macroplastics on the surveyed beaches is shown, which is due to their natural features and anthropogenic load. Differences in the pollution levels of sandy and grassy areas of the beaches are presented, and factors contributing to waste accumulation are discussed. The dominant types of waste identified include cigarette filters, plastic bags, film and food packaging. Products and fragments made of polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyethylene terephthalate, cellulose acetate, lavsan, and other polymers were detected. The obtained values of macroplastic pollution of the beaches of Minsk are comparable with the published data for freshwater bodies in other countries and are tens and hundreds of times lower than the values for sea beaches. Possible measures to prevent the dispersion of plastic waste within beaches, as well as the need to improve approaches for the purpose of aggregate quantitative assessment of the level of their pollution are discussed.
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