Presentation by Patrick ten Brink of IEEP at the European Parliament (EP) Workshop on EU Action on Marine Litter 3 May 2017 - Measures to address Marine Litter

1. www.ieep.eu
@IEEP_eu
Measures to address Marine Litter
Patrick ten Brink
Director IEEP-Brussels & Head of the Green Economy Programme
3 May 2016
European Parliament, Brussels

2. Structure
1. Plastics the Circular Economy and Marine Litter
2. Overview of Measures
3. Examples
4. Way forward
Portugal, 2012 France, 2015 South Africa, 2015

3. ECONOMY Plastic producers & converters
(inc. Packaging)
Sectors using plastic e.g.
intermediate and final consumption
Food and Drink
Cosmetics and personal care products
Textiles and Clothing
Agriculture; Fisheries & Aquaculture
Construction
Terrestrial transport; Shipping
Tourism
SOCIETY & its INSTITUTIONS
WASTE & WASTE
WATER
MANAGEMENT
Final consumption by citizens
~300mt/yr
Recyclers
MARINE ENVIRONMENT
TERRESTRIAL ENVIRONMENT
Goods Services
e.g. accidental
releases
Landfill
Coast,surfacewaters,watercolumn,seabed,ingestionbyspecies
Reuse, repair,
remanufacture,
recycle
RETAIL
Reuse
e.g. microbeads in
products;
accidental releases;
plastic blasting;
degradation of buoys;
loss of nets
e.g. loss of packaging;
tyre wear; accidental
releases
e.g. windblown waste
from landfills
e.g. litter washed into stormwater
drains; microfibres; microbeads;
bio-filters
e.g. littering; deliberate/illegal
waste disposal
Raw material inputs: fossil fuels and agricultural material for bioplastics
Plastics, the Circular Economy and Marine Litter

4. Producer responsibility & consumer behaviour
• Production as a source: ˜300m metric tonnes
of plastic produced annually; $400bn annual
market for consumer packaging
• Consumers as a source: 4,000 tonnes/year of
microbeads in EU personal care products;
microfibers from laundry; littering; packaging
• Impacts on consumers: health & safety, food
chain, well-being
• Means of engagement/solutions: product
design, product charges/ deposits,
infrastructure, technology (e.g. apps), info
campaigns
© Agua Costa Rica
Butt bins, Denmark

5. Waste and wastewater sector
• Waste sector as a source/pathway: poor
infrastructure, dumping, windblown
waste, biofilters, stormwater, microbeads
• Waste prevention: extended producer
responsibility, product design,
wastewater treatment
• Waste collection: public/municipal and
small/voluntary projects
• Waste disposal: capture windblown
waste, clean up illegal dumps
• Trash to treasure…!
© Net-WorksTM
© Bureo
© G-STAR RAW

6. Fishing and aquaculture
• Fisheries/aquaculture as a source:
abandoned, lost & discarded fishing gear
(ALDFG) e.g. nets, buoys, ropes
• Impacts on the sector: vessel damage
(cooling systems, propellers), loss of catch
through ghost fishing, reduced value of
catch (e.g. from chemical/ microplastic
ingestion)
• Actions and costs: fishing for litter,
modified gear, on-board technology,
deposit refunds, port reception facilities
and fees

7. Tourism sector
• Tourism sector as a source: littering,
recreational fishing & boating,
hotels/shops, inadequate waste
infrastructures
• Impacts on the sector: loss of aesthetic
value, health & safety risks, reduction in
tourist numbers, loss of tourism jobs
• Actions and costs: beach clean-ups,
beach certification/ sustainable
tourism, bans, fees and fines,
awareness-raising
© Susan White/USFWS

8. Plastics, the Circular Economy, Marine Litter & Instruments
Research &
development
(e.g. for product
innovation)
Direct
investments in
infrastructure
Bans
Market-based
instruments
(e.g. deposit-refund
schemes, product
charges)
Fees and Fines &
criminal rulings
Taxes & charges
– landfill,
incineration,
waste water
Innovation
- e.g. waste water
treatment for micro
plastic
Awareness
raising
Clean-up
measures
EPR: Extended
Producer
Responsibility
Better
implementation
of legislation
Fishing for litter
Product design e.g.
to facilitate reuse,
repair, remanufacture,
recycling
New legislation:
e.g. Bans,
Standards, info
requirements
Clean-up
measures
Fees & Fines;
standards;
insurance &
criminal rulings
Transparency

9. Hierarchy and types of actions
adapted from
Watkins et al,
forthcoming
Prevent/reduce waste that contributes to marine litter:
• Product design, material choice, awareness raising
Prevent/reduce litter that reaches the marine environment:
• Waste and wastewater
infrastructure; incentives
e.g. deposit refund, EPR;
plastic bag charges; bans e.g.
bags/smoking; awareness raising
Collect litter from marine environment:
• Clean-ups; fishing for litter
Recycle/upcycle collected litter:
• Trash to treasure, recycling, new products

10. Conclusions / summary and way forward
• There are many circular economy solutions to address marine litter – which mix
of instruments is best will be specific to issue and country contexts
• Costs (environmental, health, social and economic) of inaction are too high to
accept the status quo of plastic pollution
• Need multi-level governance solutions (i.e. action by all parties)
• Best to follow a hierarchy of prevention over treatment as this is likely to be
more (cost)effective
• Learn from others: e.g. inspired by plastic bag taxes to product bans
• EU Plastics strategy within the Circular Economy package a major opportunity for
policy commitment
• Need measures and ambition in proportion to the challenge of keeping plastic
and its value in the economy and out of the oceans

11. Further information: www.ieep.eu & ptenbrink@ieep.eu
• Soon to start! Massive Open Online Course on Marine Litter: https://www.marinelittermooc.org/ &
https://www.marinelittermooc.org/learn/marine-litter-mooc-may-2017
• Plastics, Marine Litter and The Circular Economy – supported by the MAVA foundation. A briefing on a road map of
circular economy measures to address marine litter and catalyse a transition to a circular economy for plastics as well
as three product fiches – on microplastics, single use products, and on polystyrene. 2016-17.
http://www.ieep.eu/work-areas/natural-resources-and-waste/resource-use/2016/10/tackling-marine-litter-with-the-
circular-economy-and-the-eu-plastics-strategy
• Watkins E., ten Brink P., Withana S., Kettunen M., Russi D., Mutafoglu K., Schweitzer J-P., and Gitti G. (2017): ’Socio-
Economics of Marine Litter’. In Nunes P., Svenssona L.E., and Markandya A. (eds). Handbook on the Economics and
Management for Sustainable Oceans, Edward Elgar Cheltenham, UK and Massachusetts, USA.
• GESAMP (2016). “Sources, fate and effects of microplastics in the marine environment: part two of a global
assessment” (Kershaw, P.J., & Rochman, C.M., Eds). (IMO/FAO/UNESCO-IOC/UNIDO/WMO/IAEA/UN/UNEP/UNDP Joint
Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Environmental Protection). Rep. Stud. GESAMP No. 93, 220 p.
http://www.gesamp.org/data/gesamp/files/file_element/0c50c023936f7ffd16506be330b43c56/rs93e.pdf
• Watkins, E., ten Brink, P., Mutafoglu, K., Withana, S., Schweitzer, J-P., Russi, D., Kettunen, M. and Gitti, G. (2016) Marine
litter: Socio-economic study. A report by IEEP for UNEP.
• Newman S, Watkins E, Farmer A, ten Brink P, Schweitzer J-P (2015) ‘The economics of marine litter’ in: Bergmann M,
Gutow L, Klages M (eds) Marine Anthropogenic Litter. Springer, Berlin, pp ##)
http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-16510-3_14
• ten Brink, P., Lutchman, I., Bassi, S., Speck, S., Sheavly, S., Register, K., and Woolaway, C., 2009. Guidelines on the Use of
Market-based Instruments to Address the Problem of Marine Litter. Institute for European Environmental Policy
(IEEP), Brussels, Belgium, and Sheavly Consultants, Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA. 60 pp.
http://www.ieep.eu/assets/477/Economic_Instruments_and_Marine_Litter.pdf