Technological developments and increased production have led to higher amounts of waste and environmental pollution. A significant part of the pollution in river basins and coasts consists of solid waste that includes packaging waste products. In some cities and towns of the South Eastern Black Sea, much of the solid waste generated on a daily basis is dumped in the natural environment on hillsides, in river beds, and on the sea shore without being subjected to any processing. Then, the accumulated garbage on the hillsides or in stream beds is carried to the Black Sea by rivers after precipitation. A major part of the waste settles to the sea bottom while buoyant waste is transported offshore or inshore by currents and wind and some accumulates on the coast. In this study, land based solid waste accumulation on the shores of coastal cities was qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed. In total, 1,190 km2 of 10 city coastlines were scanned. It was found that litter deposited on the shores amounted to 31,417 tons, which consisted of 56 plastic, 14 metal, 7 glass and 23 textile waste. Most of the coasts of the cities showed similarities in terms of the amount of solid waste. It could be concluded that solid waste pollution affects the entire coast, with the maximum in the Trabzon central district and the minimum on the coast of Vakfike-bir. According to these results, the South Eastern Black Sea coastal area has anthropogenic solid waste litter pollution that can damage environmental health, public health and aquatic ecosystems.
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