The problem of beach wrack and potential solutions for the Baltic Sea

Abstract

An overview about sustainable use options of beach wrack gathered by beach management will be given. Starting with an short introduction into drivers for beach management and the resulting problems, the results of an investigation about technical, legal and economic aspects of recent approaches of inclusion of beach wrack into circular economy schemes are presented. These „case studies“, conducted in the context of an EU-Interreg project (CONTRA), tested the feasibility of A) use of BW for production of soil improvement products; B) use of BW for production of biochar, C) use of BW for reduction of methane emmission by landfills, D) use of BW for coastal protection, E) use of BW for production of biogas and F) potential of BW for nutrient reduction in coastal Sea areas. In addition, the experiences with an already established technology for extraction of phycocolloids from BW material will be presented. An access to detailed material about socio-economic, legal and ecological aspects of BW-management is given via: https://www.beachwrack-contra.eu/publications/.