Tobago Study Shows 97% Plastic on Atlantic Beaches, Only 16% on Caribbean Coast

A peer‑reviewed study released in September 2024 provides the first standardised assessment of marine litter across eight rural Tobago coastlines. Researchers surveyed four Atlantic‑facing and four Caribbean‑facing beaches in June and July, recording 2,404 debris items.

Plastic dominated the haul, making up 69% of all debris. Mesoscale and microplastics were largely polystyrene, a material that the country banned in 2020, yet it remains the most common plastic in the samples.

Atlantic beaches were overwhelmingly plastic‑heavy: 97% of debris was plastic, with Hope Beach averaging 4.6 plastic items per square metre—more than 100 times the 0.04‑item average found on Caribbean‑facing sites. In contrast, Caribbean beaches had only 16% plastic, with glass fragments dominating the waste profile.

The stark divide underscores the limits of current local waste controls and highlights the need for broader monitoring and policy responses that address both oceanographic and local sources of marine debris.

The study, titled “Characterising marine plastic debris accumulations on Tobago coastal environments,” appeared in the Journal of Hazardous Materials: Plastics (DOI 10.1016/j.hazmp.2026.100077) and is available under a Creative Commons Attribution licence. Local coverage in the Guardian frames the findings within a growing public conversation about beach protection and waste management.