The Complexity of Litter Pollution in Transboundary Lakes : A Case Study of Lakes Jipe and Chala in Kenya and Tanzania

Litter surveys were carried out on the adjacent streets, beaches, and surface water of Lake Jipe (Mkwajuni and Kachero) and Lake Chala to determine the litter abundance, composition, and distribution. The Trailhead beach on L. Chala had a higher litter density (1.759 items/m2) compared to Mkwajuni (0.493 items/m2) and Kachero (0.128 items/m2) beaches on L. Jipe. A mean litter density of 0.016±0.008 items/km 2 translating to 3,523±1,847 litter items/km2 was floating on Lake Chala whereas a mean litter density of 0.018±0.0059 litter items/m2 translating to 4,152±1,294 litter items/km2 was floating on Lake Jipe. The street adjacent to Lake Chala had no litter of Tanzanian origin while the street adjacent to Lake Jipe had 13.5% of Tanzania products. However, the proportion of litter of Tanzanian origin found on L. Jipe (29.85%) and L. Chala (42.9%) beaches were higher than the proportion on the adjacent streets, indicating that some of the litter on the beaches are from littering or dumping on the Tanzanian side of the lakes