The people of Cagliari are used to it, although understandably annoyed they are. The fact is that the more time passes, the more the beds of Posidonia that settle at the Poetto, in particular at the "sixth" stop, drag ever greater quantities of plastic to the shore, which in recent days have injured some swimmers. The larger parts can be collected easily. The problem is with the smallest fragments, which can end up in the life cycle and sediment cycle, as well as in the fish we eat.
The expert
Giovanni Battista De Giudici, professor of Mineralogy and Petrography at the University of Cagliari, knows the problem: "Today, unfortunately, it is normal that when the Posidonia arrives it drags plastic with it in more or less high quantities", he explains. «The fact is that it often ends up in the posidonia and in the microorganisms that are ingested by the fish. In short, plastic enters the biological cycle and the sediment cycle. And since plastic has a very long life at sea, it is necessary to continue the important work of raising awareness which in recent years has brought important results ».
Entrepreneurs
For the managers of kiosks and bathing establishments, algae represent an economic damage because the more there are, the more customers move away. Gianni Pilato, manager of the “La Sesta” plant, is worried: «I don't remember such a concentration of plastic waste in recent years. Given that we are at the beginning of the season, and the number of tourists, also thanks to the return of the cruises, gives us hope », he says. "It would be good to organize more frequent initiatives to clean the beach, even if the waste in the water is much more complex to treat".
The discomfort
For businesses it is an extra job: "The waste must be untangled from the posidonia, a protected marine plant that should not be damaged and that can only be removed by adhering to the limitations provided for its protection," adds Pilate. «Even if sometimes it is not loved by bathers, this plant has characteristics that make it precious for the ecosystem».
«Monday was the day when we found more waste», says Mauro Pitzalis, lifeguard: «A bit as if the contents of garbage bags with waste such as plates and plastic cups had been thrown into the sea. Certainly it was waste that was already present on the shoreline in recent weeks and that the sea has then brought back into the water ». And whoever is at Poetto, like Aurore Legendre, a French tourist, cannot help but be sorry: "It is really a shame to find plastic on the shore of such a beautiful beach".
Posidonia is a marine plant, a source of food and protection for thousands of animal species that live and reproduce in these waters. They also have the function of absorbing carbon dioxide and emitting oxygen like all plants and of protecting beaches from erosion. But bathers will never like it.
(f. ma.), (lu. mi.)
