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The presence of marine debris in coastal and oceanic regions is a worldwide and growing problem and own to different factors. In order to check the influence of some of these factors in the amount of debris in these areas, we quantified and identified marine debris found on sand of four beaches in the city of Niterói, RJ during dry and rainy seasons; two in oceanic region and two in Guanabara Bay, and observed the intensity of use of them by people. Our results showed that intensity of use and intensity of rain had influence in the presence and amount of solid waste collected. Environmental education campaigns and improvements in basic sanitation are extremely necessary to prevent the pollution of aquatic environments and get improvements on waste management in the cities of Niterói, RJ., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Once non-biodegradable, microplastics remain on the environment absorbing toxic hydrophobic compounds making them a risk to biodiversity when ingested or filtered by organisms and entering in the food chain. To evaluate the potential of the contamination by microplastics in mussels cultivated in Jurujuba Cove, Niterói, RJ, waters of three stations were collected during a rain and dry seasons using a plankton net and later filtered. Microplastics were quantified and characterized morphologically and chemically. The results showed a high concentration of microplastics in both seasons with diversity of colors, types and sizes. Synthetic polymers were present in all samples. The presence of microplastics was probably due to a high and constant load of effluent that this area receives and to the mussel farming activity that use many plastic materials. Areas with high concentrations of microplastics could not be used for mussel cultivation due to the risk of contamination to consumers., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In many areas of the world, studies of marine debris are conducted with an emphasis on analyzing their composition, quantification and distribution on sandy beaches. However, in Brazil, studies are still restricted to some areas of the coast, and the quantities and the spatial and temporal patterns are unknown. To enhance the marine debris information in these areas, we selected the Itaipu and Itacoatiara beaches in Niterói, RJ, to collect, quantify and qualify the solid residues present in their sands. We collected 12 samples and recorded 118.39 kg of residues in Itaipu and 62.94 kg in Itacoatiara. At both beaches, the largest portion of debris was located on the upper part of the beach. Several debris items were related to food and drink consumption on the beaches, which indicated the contribution of beach users to pollution. Most of the debris was plastic. The greatest amount of debris was found at Itaipu in January and February and at Itacoatiara in January and March, months related to both the holiday season and abundant rainfall. The results demonstrated the necessity to implement an Environmental Education project for these areas to reduce its degradation., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)