Spatial variation of litter density and associated PAHs leakage on Aras River bank

Littered waste is one of the major problems on the coasts and water bodies, which has been reported in different countries. However, the pollution status caused by these wastes in river banks is a knowledge gap. The aim of this study was to assess the pollution status in riverbank caused by littered waste density on the southern bank of the Aras River. Data on the quantity and density of litter was collected by visual survey method, and the pollution status of each studied location was interpreted using the Clean Environment Index (CEI) and the Developed Clean Environment Index (DCEI). The concentration of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) leakage to the river bank was estimated. The density of littered waste on the Aras bank was 0.378-0.656 items/m². The composition of the littered waste showed a significant ratio of cigarette butts (46%) and plastic (27%). The pollution index on the bank of Aras River was 12.46-23.07, which according to the DCEI classified in significant dirty status and worse. 10% of the studied coastal points were in a severe dirty status and 30% in a critical status. Considering the number and weight of littered cigarette butts on the Aras River bank, the leakage of PAHs into the studied environment was estimated to be 300.30 µg/km². Ranking of the studied locations by the used indexes and the concentration of PAHs leakage indicates the pollution status of the river banks is in the range of dirty to critical status. Establishing proper waste disposal infrastructure and planning for the development of a cleaning system on the river banks is essential.