Packaging and small items make up 80% of plastic waste around Europe’s beaches, with some of the discarded pollutants lasting up to 500 years.
Those are some of the findings from the European Environment Agency (EEA), as it warned plastic waste generation in the continent is growing at an even faster pace than economic growth.
So-called land-based sources account for 80% of marine litter and about 85% of it is plastic, it said. Land-based sources refers to plastic, pesticides, sewage, chemical waste, and cleaning agents.
The EEA said the sheer volume of plastic was a “big problem” because of its impact on marine life and human health via the food chain.
“The persistent nature of plastic means that it can last up to 500 years in some cases,” it said.
Europe is way off target when it comes to cutting the volume of plastic waste, while a lack of adequate management means rivers invariably carry plastic waste out to the sea. Consequently, some 75% of assessed marine areas are polluted, it found.
The EEA cited data that show 1m plastic bottles are purchased every minute worldwide, and up to 5trn plastic bags are used every year.
An estimated 626m ‘floating items’, or 3,382 tonnes of waste, accumulate annually in European marine areas.
Ireland is among the worst offenders when it comes to the proliferation of plastic packaging and small non-packaging plastic items, showing a 50% increase in the past decade.
However, Ireland has become one of the better performers in the EU in recent years when it comes to the management of plastic waste, the data also show.
The Mediterranean and Black Seas are especially squeezed when it comes to the mismanagement of plastic packaging and small plastic items, most likely driven by high tourist volumes, the EEA said.
Even best-case scenario litter management and a lowering of plastic usage still leads to seas being polluted in the coming years, the report shows.
The EEA said: “Without significant improvements, it is estimated global inputs into aquatic environments will almost triple in 2040. Even in a scenario where the current ambitious commitments made by nations across the world are met, between 20m and 53m tonnes of plastic waste are still expected to leak annually into water bodies in 2030.”
Local groups such as Clean Coasts Ballynamona in east Cork have been lauded for their community-based marine pollution initiatives in recent years.
Clean Coasts Ballynamona was founded in 2015, is part of the Sea and Land Trust CLG, and has more than 300 volunteers who stage regular coastal clean-ups along an 80km stretch of coastline in east Cork — some 3% of the total Irish coastline.
In a snapshot of the kind of litter that the EEA has warned in blighting European marine life, Clean Coasts Ballynamona has removed tonnes of waste over the years, including dozens of old tyres, large plastic containers and discarded fishing nets.
It recently struck a deal for a boat to help in its efforts after a sponsorship announced with renewable firm DP Energy and global energy firm Iberdrola, under the Inis Ealga Marine Energy Park project they plan to develop off the south-east coast.
Source : irishexaminer
