Face mask littering in coastal environment of Coromandel beaches, a comparison between street and beach littering- perspective and perceptions.

Abstract In the present study, face mask littering was assessed in sixteen stations across the beaches in Coromandel coast of South India for a period of four weeks. In terms of land use pattern, stations with both fishing and tourism activities had higher abundance of face mask littering when compared with exclusive fishing and tourism stations. Parallelly, face mask littering in the streets of the coastal hamlets were also assessed and compared with the beach face mask littering. The study found that mask littering was higher in streets when compared to the beaches. Moreover, an online questionnaire was recorded to evaluate the people perception about face mask usage and littering. Of 183 respondents, most of the respondents preferred using disposable single use masks and 39.9% of the respondents preferred to dispose the face masks along with other wastes. The study highlights the lack of proper solid waste management, negligent littering, and the need for raising awareness, strategic intervention to control this menace.