Should researchers pay more attention to ‘river litter’ issues in your country ?

Marine litter pollution is quite notorious among environmentalists and fair promoted on social media but what do we know about ‘river litter' ?! Rivers , streams and its tributaries in the proximity of settlements ( urban or rural) are far more vulnerable to illegal dumping than other environmental factors. Such bad practices are encountered in low, middle and even high income countries due to the lack , improper or inefficient waste management systems. Can you suggest papers , projects or organizations which are implied in this field ?

2 Answers

1. Good topic! First comment - the problem of pollution is not directly correlated to income or prosperity of the population living nearby (however some indirect relations do exist). Secondly - the river, bay or sea/ocean are the recipients of the litter, but not the cause of it; Third comment - pollution comes in many different shapes and forms - to control/minimize it - one would need to develop a good understanding of its nature, source, transmission path, behavior (e.g. solubility) etc. There are many paper published and a few projects at various stages of development that claim to address the issue of pollution. You would need to define your interest with more precision e.g. stormwater derived pollution or wastewater derived pollution or others. This is a "larger than life" problem - so I would not expect any "packaged" solutions that can be easily replicated. Regards, Iouri

2. French English
   Lyseconcept l'est dans le domaine du rejet des excrments humains. La gestion des excrments se limite faire transiter les excrments du lieu de la dfcation jusqu'au moment o ils sont disperss dans l'environnement. Nul part on ne voit une trace d'un quelconque traitement de rduction ou d'limination. La terre produit plus de 45 millions de tonnes d'excments qui sont transforms en boue d'excrments par la technologie de gestion : un vritable poison pour l'environnement et les millieux hydrauliques naturels dans lesquels la plus part du temps ils sont dverss.
   ET c'est partout pareil, que ce soit dans les pays en voie de dveloppement que ce soit dans les pays trs industrialiss. Dans ces derniers, change uniquement, toute l'infrastructure qui est mise en place pour faire croire sous une forme dguise, qu'il y a un semblant de traitement. Les bilans parlent d'eux mmes: 45 000 millions de tonnes d'excrments produits, 45 000 millions de tonnes de boue d'excrments attendent en sortie, un hypothtique traitement.
   English
   Lyseconcept is in the area of the discharge of human waste. The management of human excreta is limited to transit from the place of excrement defecation until they are dispersed into the environment. Nowhere can not see a trace of any reduction treatment or disposal. The earth produces more than 45 million tons of excrement which are transformed into mud with excrement management technology: a real poison for the environment and natural hydraulic millieux in which most of the time they are discharged.
   AND it's the same everywhere, whether in developing countries, whether in highly industrialized countries. In the latter only changes the entire infrastructure that is in place to make it in a disguised form there was a semblance of treatment. The balance sheets speak for themselves: 45,000 million tonnes of excrement products, 45,000 million tons excments mud expect output a hypothetical treatment.