Initiatives to Fight Marine Litter Witnessed Four-Fold Surge

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The Global Plastics Alliance (GPA) released fifth progress report, that summarizes the status of commitments and projects to combat marine litter, in accordance with the declaration signed in 2011.

According to the report, a total of nearly 395 projects have been planned, underway or completed as of early 2020. This is almost four times the number of projects in 2011. The number of plastics associations that have become part of the declaration have almost doubled to 80 from 47 in 2011. These associations represent as many as 43 countries around the world. The solid progress indicates that people and groups are increasingly aware of the environmental threats posed by plastic, the report said.

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The report said that 80% of the marine litter originates from land-based sources such as poor waste management and sewage overflows. Almost 90% of river-based litter originates from only 10 rivers. It also warned that medical waste, sharp objects and large pieces of litter could pose direct threat to human life.

The Global Declaration focuses on six key areas- education, research, public policy, sharing best practices, plastics recycling/recovery, and plastic pellet containment.

The bold actions by the global collaboration have contributed much in solving plastics litter. The strong partnership between the interconnected plastics value chain and various stakeholders focuses on developing innovative solutions to tackle marine plastic pollution.