The first baseline estimation of marine litter in Port Elizabeth, South Africa

Highlights: • Port Elizabeth beaches have relatively low litter accumulation rates. • Most litter are of local origin, and likely came from land-based sources. • Plastic and plastic derivatives contribute the bulk of beach litter. • Local interventions are warranted to reduce litter in Port Elizabeth. Data on marine litter is crucial to guide waste management but is scarce in third-world countries such as South Africa. We established the first baseline measurement of litter accumulation on two beaches differing in public access in Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape, the poorest province in South Africa. Four 10-day surveys were conducted on each beach between June 2019 and June 2020. Results revealed that most of the litter (95.7%) was of South African origin and likely came from local land-based sources (e.g., beachgoers or a local river). Daily accumulation rates at the study sites ranged between 24.58 and 86.54 items·100 m⁻¹·day⁻¹, an order of magnitude lower than rates from other cities in Africa. However, like elsewhere, plastic (including foam) made up the bulk (74.2%) of litter with food packaging contributing a large portion of this. These findings indicate that local interventions are warranted to reduce litter in Port Elizabeth.