Options

Along the Dutch coastline, different types of beaches are present, regarding the presence of anthropological pressure on the beaches, which is combined to beach cleaning methods to yield the highest benefit for both nature and society.

For a more precise solution to your specific beach, we highly recommend that you use the decision tree. However, to give a little overview about which solutions fit which main type of beach, we provide that here.

Note that this is a very basic overview compared to the entire decision tree and might not be the exact answer that would fit your beach best!

Tourism hotspot beaches

Tourism hotspots form a very important source of income, as well as providing the possibility for recreational purposes for tens of millions of people. The biodiversity of the coastal ecosystems is a lost cause in these areas. This is the result of a daily cleaning program using tractors with heavy machinery to sieve the sand in order to clean the beach from both organic, as well as anthropological waste, which is necessary to satisfy the recreational needs of society. A possible recommendation for improvement of waste management in tourism hotspots could be in the waste prevention methods, by adding smoke-free zones, designated smoking areas, and increase of trash bins. The lower amount of litter requires lower intensity which decreases the costs of cleaning for municipalities. Further recommendations could be in the redistribution of organic waste to areas outside of the hotspots. This recommendation sacrifices tourism hotspots to allow higher biodiversity in surrounding areas.


The beach of Scheveningen in peak season

Source: Het parool

A moderately-used beach in Zuid-Holland which receives seasonal fluctuations in visitor levels

Source: DutchReview

Moderately used beaches

Moderately used beaches are beaches in which both recreational as well as ecological use is present. Integration of new techniques is necessary because neither type of use can be excluded. The possible cleaning methods are zoning, manual cleaning methods, and shifts in the intensity of cleaning. Firstly, zoning, which follows the concept of sparing, can be used to divide the beach into a part that is destined for recreational use and a part that is specifically used for nature. This can be combined with the moving of wrack, further bolstering the beach ecosystem in these nature areas. Secondly, there are manual cleaning methods, which allow for recreational use and ecological use of the beaches to be executed simultaneously. The third and last method is a shift towards a lower cleaning intensity which could relieve the current anthropogenic pressures which are present in coastal ecosystems. An important aspect to consider is that besides cleaning frequency, the timing of cleaning can also have a substantial impact. In spring, beaches are often heavily cleaned for recreational use. However, this is also the time of year that is important for the development of many species. As not one method can be considered ideal in every situation, a combination of a specific selection of these methods could relieve the problem of coastal land usage in moderately used areas.



Natural beaches

Biodiversity hotspots are areas along the Dutch coastline with high biodiversity. Little recreational intensity would be ideal in these places, to allow nature to remain undisturbed, which is backed up by the EU determining that these areas should be protected. By reducing the recreational use of these locations, a reduction of waste results in a lower need for cleaning. Large-scale mechanical cleaning would not be necessary, nor ideal on this type of beach. However, despite the absence of humans on these beaches, trash still washes ashore, or is carried by the wind. Sporadic manual cleaning with low intensity to decrease possible pressures on the environment is our recommended solution that will satisfy the demands of nature.



Beachreserve Noordvoort is a place where animals like birds and seals can rest without disturbance

Source: Animalstoday.nl

Hotspots

As can be seen in the image below, the types of beaches are fairly divided along our coastline. However each type of beach has different goals and targets. A beach that is a biodiversity hotspot, likely has a low anthropological intensity, resulting in there being more than enough room to make nature a priority. While recreational hotspots have a high anthropological intensity and thus see tourism as a priority instead of nature.

List of all the options for a cleaner beach


Information gathering

  • Conduct surveys to see how clean the public wants the beach and what their purpose is on the beach

  • Get the public involved (mosaic governance)


Types of beaches (recreational, shared, and nature beaches)

  • Sparing the different spots of the beach (separating the beach for the different use cases)

  • Turn the beach into a nature reserve (Only allow ecotourists on guided tours)

  • Turn the beach into a Natura 2000 area (nature protection law)

  • Turn the beach into a shared beach under Natura 2000 (Wadden island)

  • Create biological hotspots

  • Create recreational hotspots (only these parts are cleaned more frequently)

  • Only cleaning waste coming from the sea, and not on the beach itself


Types of prevention

  • Educate the people on the negative results of littering

  • Placing more trash cans, emptying the trash cans more frequently

  • Having trash cans with sensors to signal when they are full

  • Handing out free trash bags or having trash bag points for people to use

  • Make designated smoking areas or make the beach a no-smoking area

  • Reducing single-use plastics on the beach (not selling them on or near the beach)


Types of cleaning

  • Using bigger holes in the sieve for mechanical sieve cleaning (relatively less destructive)

  • Mechanical Rake cleaning (relatively less destructive than mechanical sieve cleaning)

  • Mixing mechanical and manual cleaning but reducing the intensity of mechanical cleaning

  • Using mechanical cleaning further away from the sea

  • Cleaning manually

  • Setting up beach communities (networks of volunteers), letting volunteer groups and organisations get involved in the process

  • Moving (saving) and not discarding the biological waste for later use (for example, in spring for birds' nests)