Fuzzy system analysis of beach litter components

Abstract

Tourist beaches on the southern coast of Turkey are surveyed in order to facilitate a standardised fuzzy approach to be used in litter prediction and to assess the aesthetic state of the coastal environment for monitoring programs. During these surveys the number of litter items on beaches were counted and recorded in different categories. The main source of litter on beaches was determined as "beach users". A fuzzy system was developed to predict the classification of the beaches, since uncertainty was generally inherent in beach work due to the high variability of beach characteristics and the sources of litter categories. This resulted in effective utilization of "the judgment and knowledge of beach users" in the evaluation of beach gradings. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2005.