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1. How did it get there?#

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Today, we’re looking at how plastics, an essential part of modern life, ends up on the beach of Lake Geneva.

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In december 2022 the Association for the Safeguard of Lake Geneva (ASL) completed a year-long project of identifying and +quantifying trash on the beaches of Lake Geneva Pla’stock. +This project was the latest in a series of initiatives that have been ongoing since 2015. These reports provide information +about the quantity and type of objects found. However, they do not provide information about how the objects got to the beach.

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Todays schedule:

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  1. Introduction

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  2. Discussion of what we expect to find

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  3. Field experience: identify and count

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  4. Return to lab - tabulate results

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  5. Discussion of results

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1.1. Most common items#

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Among the most common items found on the lakes beaches in 2022 are the usual suspects: cigarette butts (11% of the total), plastic bottle caps, (4% of the total) +and snack wrappers (8% of the total). We find also objects that are not associated with activities at the beach. For example, fragmented plastics (41% of the total) +industrial plastic pellets (6% of the total), cotton swabs (4% of the total) plastic construction materials (3% of the total) and shotgun cartridges (1% of the total).

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All the previous items have are found in similar proportions in the marine environment in european space, EEA data viewer. +The federal report of 2021, IQAASL, reported included +medical containers, straws and stirrers and toys as common objects on the beaches of lake Geneva.

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1.2. First encounters#

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Objective: In the field identify and count specific beach litter items.

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The guide for monitoring beach litter, MLW Guide, lists 200 items that can be found on the beach. The OSPAR +commission has a similar list of 150 items OSPAR. Today we are going to focus on identifying the counting 7 items:

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  1. Plastic medical containers

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  2. Cotton swabs

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  3. Shotgun cartridges / wadding

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  4. Construction plastics

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  5. Industrial pellets

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  6. Media filters / biomass holders

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  7. Straws and stirrers

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All other objects will be collected and discarded. Each item on the list has a distinct use or origin.

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1.2.1. Tabulate results#

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Record the number of each item found and the name of the beach where it was found. Reflections:

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  1. Did you find more or less than you expected?

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  2. How do the results compare to the federal report of 2021?

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  3. Were there items that were found on one beach and not another?

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1.2.2. Discussion#

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  1. Did you notice any immediate sources of the items found? If so were their any visible signs of prevention measures?

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  2. If the source is not apparent, what are the possible sources?

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  3. What are the possible pathways for the object to reach the beach?

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  4. What are the possible prevention measures?

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1.3. Semester project: pathways#

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You can choose to make your video project on the potential pathways to the beach of a specific item. Your video project should also include +a video short (think tiktok or google shorts) that can be shared on social media and give a brief overview of the problem and potential solutions.

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1.3.1. Resources for the video project#

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Interested in the topic? I am at your disposal for any questions on the topic: Here are some resources to get you started:

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General information:

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  1. The ocean cleanup

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  2. EEA data viewer

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  3. MLW Guide

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  4. OSPAR

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  5. Pla’stock

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  6. Identifying sources of marine litter

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  7. contact roger@hammerdirt.ch for specific resources on a topic

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+By All +

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+ hammerdirt 2023 +

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