The Baltic Sea is one of the most polluted seas in the world. Most of the pollution originates from inland activities (Stockholm International Water Institute, 2018). The modernization of traditional lifestyle, World Wars, population growth, tourism, and industrialization of local businesses have accelerated the production of household and industrial debris in the sea as well as the islands and seashores of the region, including Öland Island and Kalmar County (see. Jani and Hogland 2017; Hutniczak and Lone Grønbæk Kronbak, 2011; Ferrans et al., 2021; Froster, 2022).
Historically speaking, severe environmental problems documented in the Baltic Sea in the 1960s led to the 1974 creation of the Helsinki Convention for the protection of the marine environment of the Baltic Sea area (Elmgren et al., 2015:S335). This convention sets forth much stricter limitations on waste disposal in the sea area concerned than the Oslo Convention does for the northeast Atlantic (Ladner and Hagström, 1975:796). At the time of this decision, it was determined that the roughly threefold increase in phosphate content in the deeper layers of the Baltic in the post-World War II period coincided with an increased outflow of nutrients from land due to human activity. In addition, other kinds of pollutants, such as various harmful and toxic substances, wastes dumped into the sea, and oil, have contaminated the Baltic Sea, and they alone have made it one of the most dangerously polluted seas (Boczek, 1978:786; Elmgren, 1989).
It has been reported that the Baltic convention had a positive impact on the reduction of toxicity of the Baltic Sea. Though, increased international collaboration is vital to the efficient and effective mitigation of marine debris (Rinne, 1994). Still, the regional marine plastic footprint of the Baltic Basin is estimated at approximately 27,000 tonnes per year, with a dominance of microplastics in the leakage, followed by 5,452 tonnes of microplastics (Boucher et al. 2020).
At the same time, it has been estimated that eighty percent of marine debris is known to come from terrestrial sources (Leous and Parry, 2005:265). Therefore, it is of vital importance to elucidate the behaviors that result in the accumulation of waste in the sea and on the coastlines of the Baltic Sea.
With the purpose of exploring the patterns which end up in the pollution of the Baltic Sea, the authors conducted several visits and surveys to the Island of Öland. In the summer of 2021, Leila Papoli-Yazdi and William Hogland (2022) visited Öland and interviewed staff working at tourist camps as well as local farmers. The results of the interviews and observations reveal that the locals complain about the recent environmental changes and attribute some of the rapid transformations to the rising number of tourists.
The changes to the subsistence of Öland have been investigated from historical and sociological perspectives. Öland was industrialized in the 19th century through railway and factory constructions (Svensson, 2009). Nevertheless, the decline of the industry started during the Second World War on the island, and gradually, animal husbandry and tourism developed on the island.
In 2022–2023, we performed garbological studies to objectify the processes and behaviors which influenced the subsistence and environment of the island. We found out that coastlines represent a variety of activities since they are visited and used by tourists, local people, fishermen, and animals. In addition, the waste found on the beaches is not only the result of human activities on coastal lines but is also landed by the waves or moved by wind and can signify the condition of plastic and metal pollution.
In July 2022, we visited Byxelkrok (a small town), located on the northern side of Öland, for the first time. While surveying the coastline, we discovered that, unlike other visited places, the seaweeds on the tide line contained numerous pieces of waste. These seaweeds were recognized in six different spots on Byxelkrok sand beach and were thoroughly cleaned up and documented three times in a five-month time span till the municipality machines removed them in December 2022.
In this article, the process of studying Byxelkrok’s seaweeds is discussed. We attempt to introduce these seaweeds as sources of absorption of small pieces of waste while explaining the human behaviors which are influential in the formation process of these miniature landfills.
Öland Island: a geographical viewpoint
The Baltic covers an area of roughly 366,000 square kilometers (123,000 square miles), extending like a large and long fiord approximately from southwest to northeast on the eastern side of the Scandinavian peninsula from latitude 540 to near the Arctic Circle (Boczek, 1978:784). Öland is an island (Fig. 1) located on the western side of the Baltic Sea and southeastern side of Sweden, which belongs to a large east Swedish cultural region that roughly includes the provinces of Uppland, Vistmanland, Niirke, Sodermanland, Ostergdtland, north-eastern Smiland, and Öland (Göransson, 1958:103).
The island is 137 km long and, in the most comprehensive parts(Figure.1), 16 km wide on average. A narrow body of water of 5–15 km in width separates Öland from the mainland of Sweden. This narrow water stream is broader in the north and south and less expansive in the center. Being an island, Öland can be conceptualized as a bounded system. Simultaneously, its territorial isolation has been a crucial factor in processes affecting the social and economic situation of the island (Sunnus, 1997:41–42). The significant length of Öland has caused its interaction with diverse spectrums with the mainland of Sweden and water. Additionally, the two eastern and western sides of the Island look entirely different from the perspectives of natural and cultural processes and human activities.
The western coasts of Öland (in the direction of the mainland) experience more peaceful waves, especially in summer (Gidstam, 1975:12), which is why they possess denser vegetation. The large limestone plateau in the southern part of the island of Öland known as Stora Alvaret (the Great Alvar) occupies ca. 25000 ha of almost uninterrupted alvar habitats. It forms the largest and most impressive Alvar landscape (Rosén and Maarel, 2000:66). More plants and natural remains are observed in the water /coastlines in this area. The eastern coasts of Öland towards the Baltic Sea are open and more exposed to the waves than the other sides. The sharp coastal cuts of this side represent such a feature throughout the eastern side on a macro scale.
In September 1972, the 6km bridge between Kalmar and Öland was opened. The construction of this bridge transformed the closure of the Öland very promptly. Namely, the most significant changes to the situation on the Island were the development and prosperity of the tourism industry (Pearce, 1996) and the expansion and relocation of the ports (see Bergman and Rosenqvist, 1983). In the long run, the development led to the construction of coastal camps and popular recreational beaches, mainly on the northern and western sides of the island.
Byxelkrok is a small town (population:168 people) located in the north of Borgholm County. The town is well-known for its diverse natural and cultural landscapes and coasts where tourists and visitors spend time, especially in summer. Byxelkrok’s beach has two main textures and landscapes. The first one is covered by stone. Tourists fossil hunt and sunbathe on these beaches, but these places are barely used for swimming or sailing. On the other hand, the sand beaches located on the western side of the town are more popular for swimmers and sailors. In the summer and on the sand and tide lines, the big bodies of the dried seaweeds are landed. Some of them have a length of more than 20 meters, but their width is usually less than 2 meters.