Characterization of plastic waste found in high mountain tourism areas of the Catalan Pyrenees. Citizen awareness- raising activities

Abstract

Most of the plastics that are found in the sea forming the well-known plastic islands, have been transported from the population centers through the rivers. For this reason, one of the first tasks to be carried out is to prevent plastics from reaching the rivers, and for this purpose is necessary that citizens become aware of the need to make an appropriate management of plastic waste at the end of its useful life. Over the last few years, several campaigns have been carried out to raise awareness about proper waste management in homes, but this awareness seems to be forgotten when we are away from home and especially in leisure areas or other activities such as industry or agriculture. These wastes, that are not managed correctly, often reach the rivers or riverbeds and finally become part of the plastic islands. In order to provide scientific evidence of this fact and promote citizen awareness, the aim of this work is to separate, characterize and quantify plastic waste found in areas with a high number of tourists in the Catalan Pyrenees and to share this information with citizens through some awareness-raising activities. For this plastic waste, commonly known to be plastic bags and water bottles, alternatives are proposed based on an eco-audit. This work is part of actions 3 and 4 of the Plastic0pyr project of the Interreg POCTEFA program