China Focus: Coastal cities fall victim of maritime pollution (2)

GARBAGE FROM HUMAN SOCIETY

According to China's 2012 report on maritime environment quality, 87 percent of garbage floating on the surface of the sea was a result of human behavior, and the 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 slack seasons, the beach is filled with rubbish from tourists.

Meanwhile, rain and rivers inevitably help carry garbage into oceans, contributing to the increasing elements of nitrogen and phosphorus in the waters. This results in the growing number 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.

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