Understanding the Drift Pathways of Waste PET Bottles into the Sea of Japan

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  • Okano Tamon
    Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology, Graduate School of Engineering, Tottori University
  • Andou Shigeki
    Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology, Graduate School of Engineering, Tottori University
  • Ikeda Keigo
    Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology, Graduate School of Engineering, Tottori University

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Other Title
  • 日本海に流入する海外からの飲料用ペットボトルの漂流経路
  • ニホンカイ ニ リュウニュウ スル カイガイ カラ ノ インリョウヨウ ペットボトル ノ ヒョウリュウ ケイロ

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Description

Monitoring of the numbers and production dates of waste PET Bottles (mineral water/soft drink), which wash up onto the beaches of Tottori in Japan, was carried out every month over a period of seven years. A total of 56,306 bottles (560 chinese bottles with legible production dates) were collected and analyzed. The analysis indicates that these littered bottles flow into the sea from Taiwan and southern China around April to June and are washed up onto Tottori’s beaches mainly during the months of August and September. Most bottles from other areas of China are transported to the sea via rivers around July and August, and are washed up onto the shores around October and November. The bottles from Southeast Asia are washed up from August through November. On the whole, the floating bottles from the East China Sea drift into the Sea of Japan from August through November. Bottles originating in Korea flow into the sea in summer and drift toward the north. The Korean bottles mix with bottles from Russia, then drift southward pushed along by northerly autumnal winds. These bottles are then washed up onto the beaches in Tottori around November and January. Thus, it was revealed that the drift pathways for these waste PET bottles are governed by the East Asian monsoon cycle and the corresponding sea currents.

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