Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on coastal environment: positive or negative? A 1-year study on litter in Caspian coasts
Arabian Journal of Geosciences
; 15(21), 2022.
Article
in English
| ProQuest Central | ID: covidwho-2075686
ABSTRACT
Litter is one of the major environmental problems. These wastes cause adverse health, environmental, and even economic effects. One of the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic is the impact on litter composition and density due to its changes in lifestyle and consumption patterns. In this study, the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the composition and density of litter on the ten southern beaches of the Caspian Sea in Iran in 1 year was investigated. The results showed that the density of the litters was in the range of 36.5–306 items/m2. The highest and lowest proportions of the COVID-related litters on the locations studied were 2.54 and 5.95%, respectively. The indexes in the areas studied showed that the COVID-19 pandemic has reduced the density of the litter in 90% of the beaches studied by changing the style of citizens, but the emergence of new dumping related to COVID-19 has increased the potential for health and environmental hazards caused by litters. The effects of the COVID-related litters increased the clean environment index by 5 to 12% on the beaches. This study shows that the impact of social phenomena such as a pandemic on litter and its results can be used for the better management of municipal solid wastes, including litter in similar situations in the future.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
Databases of international organizations
Database:
ProQuest Central
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
Language:
English
Journal:
Arabian Journal of Geosciences
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
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