Land-based waste accounts for 80 percent of marine waste in Europe, and approximately 85 percent of waste is plastic, according to the European Environment Agency (EEA) report "From Source to Sea - The Untold Story of Marine Waste", which is reported by DOOR.
Packaging and small plastic items make up almost 80 percent of that plastic waste. The new report published by the EEA is the first European study that holistically looks at how waste is created and ends up in European seas via our rivers, according to the DOOR press release. N1.
Despite the measures, data shows that the production of plastic waste is growing faster than economic growth. Between 2011 and 2020, plastic waste produced in the 27 EU member states per person increased by 22 percent, as did the amount of plastic waste mismanagement.
Most used and discarded plastic items are either recycled, incinerated or disposed of in landfills, but due to limitations in waste management capacity, some still end up in our seas and oceans, making it a primary source of marine litter.
In some cases, it was pointed out, the durability of plastic means it can last up to 500 years in the environment.
The new recommendations are aimed at making better use of existing and new data sources for better monitoring of problem areas, and the clean-up actions and supervision of volunteer scientists are invaluable there. Technology is also playing an increasingly important role, as detection via satellites, aircraft, drones and artificial intelligence can help make sense of the collected "big data".
The report offers ten recommendations to complement the European Union's action through the EU Zero Pollution Action Plan, the Circular Economy Action Plan (including the Plastics Strategy), the Maritime Strategy Framework Directive and the Single-Use Plastics Directive.
All of this is needed to encourage political decision-making in countries and communities that face the biggest problems of poor waste management, the statement says, and the full report can be read here.
Bonus video:
