Most marine litter collected in Turkey’s Samsun

Most marine litter was collected in the Black Sea province of Samsun in 2019, according to data from the Environment and Urban Planning Ministry.

Efforts focusing on collecting, parsing and storing waste stepped up after as much as 58,000 cubic meters of sea litter was retrieved in the city.

Istanbul, Turkey's largest city, and Antalya, one of the country's major tourist destinations on the Mediterranean coast, followed Samsun with 35,000 cubic meters and 28,000 cubic meters of marine litters collected.

Most of the litters collected from Samsun's sea were plastic and aluminum.

In the face of the mounting sea pollution problem, volunteers from non-governmental organizations and related units from the public institutions joined forces to carry out necessary work to clean the city's 120-kilometer-long shoreline.

Such efforts are focusing particularly on the beaches where locals enjoy the sea.

According to the latest official data, the city's population was 1.35 million in 2019.

"We have mobilized to collect the marine litter in the city. Volunteers and divers are taking part in efforts to retrieve the litters both on the shores and in the seabed," said Tuncer Üçüncüoğlı, the coordinator of the Black Sea region at the Clean Sea Association (TUPMEPA).

"Studies have shown that those litters pose risk to marine species and the ecosystem, as well as tourism and economic activities. The fact that one liter of waste oil pollutes as much as one million liters of water underlines the importance of keeping our seas clean," he added.