Plastic pollution on the beaches of Lake Geneva “worrying”
Published: Tuesday, Aug 20th 2024, 16:20
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According to a study by the Association for the Protection of Lake Geneva (ASL), plastic pollution on the beaches of Lake Geneva can be classified as "worrying". Some beaches are more affected than others, in particular Les Grangettes in Noville VD, Le Bouveret VS and Port Choiseul in Versoix GE.
The study entitled "Pla'stock", carried out in collaboration with the University of Geneva, found an average of 7600 microplastic particles (0.3 to 5 millimetres) per square meter. This figure corresponds to 12,000 particles per bath towel.
60 percent of the microplastics came from synthetic textile fibers that are released when clothes are washed or through wear and tear. The remaining 40 percent was fragmentation of macroplastics, half of which was invisible to the naked eye. The four most frequently identified items were cigarette butts, food packaging, pellets and industrial plastic granulate and cotton buds.
For the study, samples were taken from 25 beaches in Switzerland and France in 2021 and 2022 by volunteers and scientific staff. The results show the extent of plastic pollution on the beaches of Lake Geneva, according to a joint press release issued on Tuesday by the Association pour la Sauvegarde du Léman (ASL) and the International Commission for the Protection of the Waters of Lake Geneva (CIPEL), which supported the study.
On the Swiss side, the beaches of Les Grangettes in Noville VD and Le Bouveret VS stood out in particular due to their high concentration of both microplastics and macroplastics. The authors of the study explain this with the proximity of these beaches to the mouth of the Rhone and to a drainage canal, combined with their exposure to waves, currents and winds.
©Keystone/SDA
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