Download FACTSHEET: Marine Litter

FACTSHEET: Marine Litter
What is marine litter?
Marine litter covers a wide range of materials which have been discarded, intentionally or not, on
beaches on shores or at sea, including such materials transported into the marine environment from
land by rivers, drainage or sewage systems or winds. It includes any persistent, manufactured or
processed solid material, mostly plastic, but also glass, metals or other.
The problem
In a sense, 'marine litter' is a misnomer, since approximately 80% originates on land and only then
ends up in the marine environment (plastic bags, cigarette buds, plastic bottles etc). Other litter
comes from ships, offshore mining and extraction, illegal dumping and discarded or lost fishing gear.
The accumulation of waste in our oceans and seas has turned them into improbable waste dumps.
While the media has focused considerable attention on the large 'plastic soups' floating on the surface
of the ocean, a larger amount of marine litter is unseen - floating in the water column or lying on the
sea bed. Marine litter can travel longs distances, following currents. Microplastics ( from the
breakdown of larger forms of plastic waste, the washing of synthetics or from some cosmetics and
industrial abrasives, for instance) are another growing and arguably more severe source of marine
pollution, as these oil-based particles attract concentrations of persistent organic pollutants (POPs).
Microplastics are almost impossible to remove from the oceans once they have entered them.
While most of it is unseen, this waste is a serious environmental hazard. Plastic waste in particular is
threatening our marine ecosystems, killing fish, birds and other marine species, washing up on our
beaches and shorelines. It also poses potential risks to human health as marine debris enters the
food chain.
Marine litter also has important economic impacts.For instance, the cost of removing beach litter in
the Netherlands and Belgium amounts to more than 10 million € per year, while in the UK,
municipalities are spending approximately €18 million each year. There are also unquantified costs to
the fishing industry associated with loss of fish stocks due to abandoned or lost fishing gear,
contamination, and damage to nets and propellers.Often, only a small part of the marine litter can be
removed from the oceans and beaches, at a relatively high cost.
Existing commitments
At international level
Marine litter was singled out in the Rio+20 summit declaration "The Future We Want", as a major
threat to our oceans and seas. In its paragraph 163, world leaders "commit to take action to, by 2025,
based on collected scientific data, achieve significant reductions in marine debris to prevent harm to
the coastal and marine environment".
In parallel the global target under the Convention on Biological Diversity requires that "by 2015, the
multiple anthropogenic pressures on coral reefs, and other vulnerable ecosystems impacted by
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climate change or ocean acidification are reduced so as to maintain their integrity" . The technical
rationale for this target notes that "given ecological and policy inertias, it is important to urgently
reduce the other anthropogenic pressures on these vulnerable ecosystems, such as land-based
pollution/sedimentation, unsustainable harvesting and physical pressures, so as to increase their
resilience to climate change and ocean acidification. Given this urgency a deadline for 2015 has
adopted for this target".
All four Regional Sea Conventions governing the EU's marine waters have recognised marine litter
as a serious problem and have or are developing strategies to address it. EU Member States that are
members of OSPAR have committed to 'continue to develop reduction measures and tarets, taking
into consideration an ambitious target resulting in a reduction in 2020'.
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Aichi Target 10: http://www.cbd.int/sp/targets/
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At EU level
As part of efforts to reach 'good environmental status' for all marine waters of the EU by 2020, the
Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) requires Member Strares to define targets relating to
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marine litter in co-operation with neighbouring countries sharing a marine region.
The Commission is currently assessing the targets set by Member States. Preliminary results
however show a lack of cohernce and differing levels of ambition among Member States, including
between those sharing a common sea basin.
Legislation, Policies, Measures and Initiatives to Tackle Marine
Litter
The EU already has policies and initiatives in place to address the problem of marine litter both
directly and indirectly. These are summarised in the Commission's Staff Working Paper (CSWP)
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'Overview of EU policies, legislation and initiatives related to marine litter' issued in October 2012 .
As described in this paper, the various sources of marine litter are also for the most part already
subject to EU regulation, notably under the waste legislation, as part of the resource efficiency policy,
but also for instance through legislation on port reception facilities or pollution from ships. The
Commission is supporting Member States to better implement the relevant legislation.
Bearing in mind that plastic waste can persist for hundreds of years in the (marine) environment, a
forthcoming Commission Green Paper on the issue of plastic waste aims to stimulate a broader policy
debate on how to make plastic products more sustainable throughout their life cycle and reduce the
impact of plastic waste on the environment.
Also described in the CSWP are the many studies underway to address any existing knowledge
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gaps , in particular on possible measures to prevent littering, to identify what type of packaging
causes most marine litter and why, on the plastic recycling cycle and on the impact caused to the
environment by marine litter in the four marine regions. In addition, an EEA report on the state of
Europe’s coasts will include an assessment of marine litter at the EU level. The European Parliament
has dedicated funding to specific pilot projects in the area. Together with the reports of the Member
States in the context of the MSFD, these studies are expected to provide an EU baseline in 2013 for
further reflection about an EU-wide reduction target, which would provide an important point of focus
for these various efforts.
The need for futher action - An EU-wide target
Despite these various activities underway and measures already in place, quantities of marine litter in
the EU's seas continue to grow. In the absence of further action, the EU is unlikely to meet either the
MSFD objective or reach the Rio + 20 commitment to achieve significant reductions in marine marine
litter by 2025.
Marine litter target – purpose
With a view to stimulating further reflection and action on marine litter and increasing awareness, the
7th EAP proposes to set an EU-wide quantitative reduction target for marine litter. Together with its
corresponding baseline such a target would:
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These obligations derive from Article 10 of Marine Strategy Framework Directive 2008/56/EC and Commission
Decision 2010/477/EU on criteria and methodological standards on good environmental status of marine waters.
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http://ec.europa.eu/environment/marine/pdf/SWD_2012_365.pdf
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The Commission (DG ENV) has commissioned three studies: (1) Feasibility study on introducing instruments to
prevent littering; (2) Study on the largest loopholes within the flow of packaging material (3) Pilot project - plastic
recycling cycle and marine environmental impact.
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• Draw the attention of policy-makers to the problem and provide the political impetus needed to set
the EU on course to achieving the MSFD objective and fulfilling the commitment made at Rio +
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20 .
• Act as an important driver for the implementation of the existing waste legislation, as well as for
additional actions across relevant EU policies (waste, water, ecodesign, fisheries, etc) which are
key sources of marine debris. It is estimated that the full and effective implementation of the waste
policy could already result in significant marine litter reductions, but additional efforts are also
needed.
• Improve the coherence between the national efforts of Member States, which need to be
coordinated at a sea basin and at EU level to yield satisfactory results.
• Provide a basis for monitoring progress and assessing the success or failure of measures to
prevent marine litter from entering the seas.
• Help raise stakeholder awareness (e.g. local authorities, fishermen, tourists, general public) of the
marine litter problem and promote behavioural change.
Marine litter target - options
The EU-wide target for marine litter could take several forms, would need to be underpinned by a
baseline and accompanied indicators, and based on a detailed impact assesment . For example:
• A simple overall quantitative EU reduction target (i.e. percentage of reduction by target date)
covering all of Europe's seas. This would essentially amount to an aspirational target, which would
serve the purpose of calling attention to the issue and stimulating action.
• A simple overall reduction target flanked by suggested actions in various sectors and at all levels.
• An overall quantitative EU reduction target backed up by sub-targets per sea basin and/or source
of litter (eg from shipping or wastewater) and/or litter type (e.g. microplastics, fishing gear…)
and/or location (eg beach litter) . Such more specific (sub) target could be aspirational or binding,
depending on the legal basis.
In either case, the target could be accompanied by an action plan and/or toolbox of measures and
best practice.
Marine litter target – process
The issue of a marine litter target will continue to be discussed in the Technical Subgroup on Marine
Litter under the MSFD's implementation framework. This group has already proposed the adoption of
a measurable and significant reduction goal for marine litter by 2020. Research carried out by the
JRC shows that a 50% reduction target may be feasible if coupled with adequate measures.
In addition, Germany and the European Commission are co-organising a Marine Litter Conference in
Berlin in April at which target setting at EU, regional and national level will feature prominently.
The most appropriate, effective and feasible options for an EU wide target will be analysed in an
impact assessment which the Commission aims to present in 2015. It would draw on the work carried
out in the Technical Subgroup on Marine Litter, on Member State reporting on GES under the MSFD,
the results of technical studies and research commissioned or funded by the Commission/EU and
other relevant sources of information.
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For the global community to meet its Rio ambitions, front-runners need to show the way. Experience shows
that EU targets in the field of environment tend to stimulate international attention and action.
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