OBSERVATIONS ON THE EFFECTS AND BEHAVIOR OF COMPRESSED 

 MUNICIPAL REFUSE BALES IN THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT 



Dr. Ljnin P. Wallace 

 Bureau of Solid Waste Disposal 

 Environmental Protection Agency 



Dr. Jack B. Pearce 



Sandy Hook Marine Laboratory 



National Marine Fisheries Service 



ABSTRACT 



This project was initiated on June 19, 1970, with the 

 successful mooring of six bales of refuse — two at each of 

 three adjacent sites located two and one half miles south 

 of Virgin Gorda Island. This was accomplished only after 

 extensive logistical arrangements moved the experimental 

 materials from the U. S. Mainland and Puerto Rico to the 

 Virgin Islands and the crew of the research vessel ADVANCE 

 II prepared the mooring apparatuses. 



On September 11, 1970, it was found that two of the buoys 

 were either lost from wave action or had been stolen and their 

 mooring lines were not recoverable, but the ADVANCE II 

 successfully recovered one mooring system for observation 

 of the attached bales. 



Visual and photographic observations were made of the bales 

 and samples of the organisms were found. No encrusting 

 micro fauna or flora were found on the anchor weights, chains, 

 or bales that had remained three months in depths exceeding 

 200 meters (100 fathoms) . With close scrutiny three distinct 

 species of polychaete worms were found in the surface layers 

 of the baled refuse. The most abundant (2-3 worms per 



2 



100 cm ) was a worm 15-20 mm in length belonging to the 



family Phyllodocidae, and the other two species found were a 



Nereidae worm and one belonging to the family Opheliidae 



2 

 (< 1 worm per 100 cm ) . A large spider crab. Nib ilia 



antilocapra (f: Majidae), and a small crab belonging to the 



family Xanthidae were also identified. A snail and several 



dozen foramlnifera of the family Rotaliidae were recovered 



from among materials returned to the laboratory for analysis. 



Total coliform bacteria counts of 96,000 MPN and fecal coliform 



counts of 1,300 MPN were reported after laboratory analysis. 



The complete report is available. 



The study is being continued so that observations can be made 

 after much longer period of time (1 year) . Since two of 

 the mooring systems were no longer available for observation, 

 it was decided to replace the recovered bales in approximately 

 the same location and allow them to Interact with the ocean 

 until the summer of 1971. 



VII -45 



