Purpose. The goal of the study is estimation the scale of the plastic waste’s area in the coastal zone of the Northwestern part of the Black Sea and their role of the of polution formation.
Methods. The base of methods is system analyses.
Results. The annual volume of solid waste in the North-Western Black Sea region can reach 2.5 million tons per year, and the volume of plastic littre - up to 323 thousand tons per year. In spite of of plastic littre as the resource, at present there is no definite system for handling them, and under these conditions they are disposed of at numerous dumps (including unauthorized ones) of solid household waste. A significant part of plastic (up to 80%) from unorganized landfills and from the other coastal pollution sources is carried out by air and water flows in the water area of the Northwestern part of the Black Sea. Approximatly 83% of marine littre in the Black Sea is plastic. In turn, the presence of marine littre links with the imperfection of the solid waste management system. The dominant way of manage is remains their removal and disposal in landfills. As of 2019, in the Odessa region there were 528 landfills, in the Nikolaev region - 267, in the Kherson region - 54. Almost 17% of landfills in the Odessa region and 26% in the Nikolaev region do not comply according to environmental hazard standards. Significant part of the plastic littre, first of all from unauthorized of the solid waste dumps, is carried by air flows into the river network, and if they are close to the beach area, directly into the Black Sea. Plastic littre is carried out from the catchment areas of the large rivers (Danube, Dniester, Southern Bug and Dnieper), as well as water intakes of numerous medium and small rivers. Almost the whole beach area of the Northwestern part of the Black Sea is actively used for recreational purposes and, therefore, is a source of beach waste. In addition, the coastal sources of garbage can be settlements, marine complexes and agricultural lands located along the coastal line. An insignificant share of plastic littre is generated within the sea area (from shipping, fishing, etc.).
Conclusions. The main component of marine littre is plastic, as it accounts for 83% of marine littre founded in the Black Sea. Macroplastics can be subject to long-term movement by the sea currents, winds, waves and poses a direct threat to the marine ecosystem. Directions of movement of marine littre depends on the processes of general circulation in the surface layer (0-500 m) of the Black Sea. The processes of biodegradation of macroplastic are hindered in the marine environment, and therefore its transformation is limited by the processes of destruction and dispersion in micro- and nanoparticles. Taking into consideration the environmental hazard of microplastics, it is advisable to create a system for monitoring in the marine environment. To improve the environmental situation in the coastal zone of the Northwestern part of the Black Sea, it is necessary to significantly increase the volume of recycled plastic littre, as well as to eliminate numerous landfills for solid household waste that do not accord to environmental safety requirements.
BALLAST WATER POLLUTION RISK ASSESSMENT IN THE BLACK SEA