Like everyone on this forum I love San Stef beach with its shallow water and wide quiet sands, in general the beach is kept clean by the Greek authorities but last summer I saw some terrible examples of people littering the less used (and rarely cleaned) parts of the beach.
The most disgusting example was someone stuffing dirty nappies under rocks at the far end of the beach near the old harbour but worse still is the area of beach beyond Thomas Boats where the nudist hang out, here its amazing what you can find but I have seen everything from dust bin lids to a rusty bbq!
Much of this stuff is washed up from the sea where idiot boat owners have thrown it overboard but it makes that part of the beach somewhat unpleasant to walk along.
However, not everything is washed up and some thoughtless people throw their rubbish onto the sand thus spoiling the very thing they have come to enjoy! I have seem people throw down plastic water bottles having just walked past a huge bin, it makes you wonder what goes on inside the head of these morons.
I know everyone who uses this forum will respect the environment of San Stef but its disappointing that so many others dont.
I came across a website today that details how long it takes litter to breakdown on a beach or elsewhere in the environment, it makes thoughtful reading:
Time it takes for garbage to decompose in the environment (Information Source: U.S. National Park Service; Mote Marine Lab, Sarasota, FL)
Glass Bottle.......................... 1 million years
Monofilament Fishing Line… 600 years
Plastic Beverage Bottles…… 450 years
Disposable Diapers………… 450 years
Aluminum Can..................... 80-200 years
Foamed Plastic Buoy……… 80 years
Foamed Plastic Cups……… 50 years
Rubber-Boot Sole............... 50-80 years
Tin Cans……………………. 50 years
Leather................................. 50 years
Nylon Fabric........................ 30-40 years
Plastic Film Container........ 20-30 years
Plastic Bag.......................... 10-20 years
Cigarette Butt...................... 1-5 years
Wool Sock............................ 1-5 years
Plywood…………………….. 1-3 years
Waxed Milk Carton………… 3 months
Apple Core…………………. 2 months
Newspaper………………….. 6 weeks
Orange or Banana Peel...... 2-5 weeks
Paper Towel……………….. 2-4 weeks
Its sobering to think that the next Ice Age will have been and gone by the time that Coke bottle someone threw into the sea finally decomposes!
So for eveyone that loves San Stef we can all do our bit to keep the beach clean by taking our rubbish away and even picking up the litter other thoughtless people have left behind, if we all did a little it would make a big difference.
Andy
Topic: Litter & Rubbish On San Stef Beach (Read 24519 times)