Debris in the Bohuslän archipelago

As we reported before, we have collected plastic on the West Coast of Sweden, outside of Bohuslän. The plastic is now on its way to the Electrolux design studio.

No other coastline in Sweden is so severely impacted by sea debris than that of Bohuslän. This specific coast, due to its geographical location, is exposed to the complex system of currents that runs through the North Sea and Skagerrak. Practically all surface waters in the North Sea sooner or later meet the Bohuslän coast, including the Jutland current.

About 20 000 tons of garbage is dumped in the North Sea every year. The Bohuslän archipelago, with its thousands of islands and reefs, acts as a filter for the water masses on their way North. Most of the debris sinks to the sea floor, and around 5000 cubic meters of debris floats ashore on the beaches of Bohuslän.

Most of the debris that reaches the country consists of plastic products such as fish boxes, fishing gear and plastic bottles. Before, man-made products such as fishing gear and ropes which were washed up decomposed after some years on the beaches, but when plastic was introduced to society after World War II, the piles of debris have grown on the beaches and become one of the biggest problems in the marine environment.

Source: ”Strandskräp i Bohuslän en internationell miljöfråga” by Roland Olin, Västkuststiftelsen (West Coast Foundation)