What can be done about marine litter?

More recearch (independently funded) is needed to clarify the potential toxic impact of microplastics/plastics on our marine environment. Although, I beleive, there is research taking place in this field and that will help us better understand the impact of plastics that will now reside in our seas and oceans for many years to come. I don’t think we have yet proved that plastic is “non toxic in the marine environment”.

Maya,

Thanks for your comments about plastics being a really useful material.  We seem to agree on the need to make the best possible use of its value as a resource - which is what the Plastics 2020 Challenge is all about and why we have thrown open the debate to everyone to tell us their ideas and views.

In response the references to research published by Dr Takada, such claims are based on early research on two types of plastic granule in heavily polluted Japanese coastal water. However plastics can absorb all kind of chemicals toxic or non toxic in their immediate environment, provided the chemical is compatible with plastics. A study undertaken by the University of Washington Seattle in June 2008 called for more studies on the uptake of toxins from plastics in marine ecosystems but stated that: “The likelihood of ingestion is minimal due to the low mass and concentration of debris particles relevant to zooplankton organisms”.

Peter Davis, British Plastics Federation

My last comment, promise, I do think plastic is a really useful material - we just need to be wiser in the way we use and reuse it! I often state this within any marine ed. talks!

“Plastics are neither bio accumulative or toxic and are essentially inert in the marine environment.”

I refer you to research of Dr Takada (Marine Pollution Bulletin 50 (2005) 1103–1114 and Environ. Sci. Technol. 2001, 35, 318-324) which clearly demonstrates that not only do pellets / mermaids tears / nurdles have PCBs adsorbed on their surface they also contain them (pre 1970). This then accumulates within food chain after ingestion. Also, biofilms on plastics lead to marine plankton “nibbling” on them along with any toxins on plastic surfaces and again build up in the food chain.

We are very familiar with images of stomachs full of plastics in seals, dolphins, turtles, sharks, sea birds and this has a pretty “toxic” effect.

One of the simplest solutions is provision ( and emptying!!)  of recycling receptacles within harbours, beaches, industrial sites. Beach clean wardens in North Cornwall proved really effective and should be a responsibility for all local authorities with a coastal region. If they don’t then an allocation for street/ riparian cleaning. If more beaches had bins I think more people would put rubbish they found on the beach in them! Coastal council or landowner car parks should have a percentage contributable to beach cleaning.

I spend alot of time talking to primary schools about the impacts of marine litter - this has an immediate effect and will hopefully last into adulthood. Education is paramount for future action…

Dear Maya, 

Thanks for the further comment about the reference to beach goers versus the general public.  We have amended the comment under action for regional and local government as well. 

Your last comment at the end about researching the true origins of waste in the sea is something we agree needs to be done and we are willing to play our part in this working with others.

Thanks again for your interest in our debate stream on marine issues. 

Peter Davis Director General British Plastics Federation

Many thanks for your speedy response and for making ammendments to your website - it is so important that we correctly use collated data & accurately report from it. Otherwise, hours can be wasted in projects on, in this example, beach users, when actually they are not the only culprits. There is another paragraph in the section “The challenge for regional government” where again you say that nearly 40% is attributable to beach users - perhaps this could be changed too? I really believe (working daily on a beach locally) that this rubbish on our beach is seldom from beach users - but washed ashore - maybe from other beach users but in the majority I would hazard a guess (& only a guess) that this is dumped at sea / washed to the sea from inland. But that is just my idea and perhaps the origin needs to be clarified in some way - but how?!?!

It is comforting to see that the BPF is taking all these matters seriously and working towards change!

Thanks for your comments Maya. On behalf of the Plastics 2020 Challenge I would like to reply with the following thoughts.
Firstly we have checked the statistic with the Marine Conservation Society as they provided the original information and we accept that beach users should say general public so we have changed the introduction to the marine litter debate on the website.
Your point about bottle lids is interesting and I agree that serious thought needs to go into considering the design of bottles and caps and whether they can be integrated. As with most of these things the answers are not normally straight forward but there would clearly be environmental advantages to be had from such designs.  I will make sure your comments are brought to the attention of those who look at design issues like this.
With regard to the diversity of product types and polymers used for bottle lids, this is a consequence of having so many different global producers and no single technical standard or raw material specification.  Again your point is well made and the industry is now beginning to think about how such a complex global manufacturing challenge can be addressed to minimise the environmental impact.  Of course the best thing that could be done is for people not to carelessly discard their items creating litter.

Oh yes an dyou say the 4 R’s - Reduce, reuse, recycle, recover but what about refuse? Refuse to buy it in the first place if you think it is contributable to unnecessary waste!

A good place to start would be to engineer plastic bottles from the same polymer / plastic types & then have a lid which is somehow integral & does not seperate. Bottle lids are a major hazard to marine wildlife such as the Laysan Albatross on Midway Atoll whose stomachs are filled with plastic. You also say “37% of uncontained beach litter..is attributable to beach users”. I , personally, question this figure - how can we be so sure that some of this litter is not lost at sea from boats etc.?We need to make sure litter is not dumped at sea - there are atill reports from witness’ to litter trails behind large tankers/boats.

If all plastic was easier to recycle without so many differing types perhaps it would be less within one product it would be less of a logistical headache?

I do regular MCS beach cleans & am disheartened by the vast array of bottle lids.

Last year I started a business that removes (along with other things) plastic from the sea. At the moment we are based in the Plymouth area but hope to expand to other areas.
We use boats as well as walking around beaches, harbours and marinas etc to collect the rubbish and it is very satisfying when members of the public come up to us and say whay a great job we are doing and how unusual it is to see ‘cleaners’ on the sea.
If you would like to see more about us please visit our website at http://www.cleancoastservices.com

Thanks Mike for your comments and contribution to our debate.

I agree with you that legislative action or enforcement of legislation is needed to challenge all marine and costal litter - whatever the material. Fines for any form of littering need to be enforced, also for illegally dumping waste at sea.

I also agree we need to educate people not to litter, ensure there are enough waste receptacles, and that they are emptied regularly.  13% of beach litter comes from fishing so perhaps angling clubs and those who issue licences should insist they remove their litter.

Thanks again for sharing your views and concerns.

Peter Davis Director General British Plastics Federation

The problem of plastic contamination of our seas is massive.  I am 48 yrs old and I have noticed the increadible increase in all form of litter.  I agree that most plastic ingress into our seas comes from poor waste control on land.  I work at a power station on the River Test and the amount of plastic(mostly bags and wrappers) that gets stuck on our Sea Water Inlet strainers is unbelievable.  If this is indicative of what is ending up at sea we have got real problems.  I also notice large amounts of litter left on my local beaches by visiting scum that cannot be bothered to take their waste away.

To stop it we need drastic legislative action to reduce plastic bags, wrapping and bottles.  We need zero tolerance for littering and we need education.  We owe this to the next generation.

Whilst I am at it, I cannot understand the mentality of beach fishermen who derive pleasure from the act of fishing but then leave all their detritus behind which threatens that simple pleasure, strange !!

I know the beaches of Islay well having visited there a number of times myself and share Polly’s view that is it is profoundly depressing to see plastics waste on some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. As someone who makes part of his living from the plastics industry, I think we can all agree that more needs to be done to solve it. Much of the solution lies in changing a mindset that believes it is OK to chuck rubbish in the sea and this is applicable right across society from industry to consumers.

A starting point for this is education and as an industry we need to put more effort and resources into encouraging the next generation to see liittering as socially unacceptable - in much the same way as drink driving and more recently smoking in public places has become.

But we should not limit this to education to children. Infrastructure owners such as local authorities,waste management organisations and utility companies need to be reminded that the public find marine litter increasingly unacceptable too - as they cam make a real difference to how much of it ends up there.

These days we have the technology available to ensure that all end of life plastics can be disposed of efficeintly through reuse, recycling or recovery - so there is no need for it to end up in the marine environment or anywhere else for that matter - including landfill.

I work on the isles of Islay and Jura as a beach ranger, keeping our islands’ beaches clean.  I’ve been doing this for two years.  The amount of plastic which washes up on our shorelines is unbelievable and depressing.  Every tide brings a new load of plastic, mostly from fishing and shipping, but also local sewage related debris and alot of drinks bottles and cans.  I pick it up, recycle what I can and landfill the rest, sometimes with the help of community groups.  I help educate the local school children about marine litter and most of the schools have adopted their beaches, through the marine conservation society initiative.  It would be great to see other beach rangers appointed around the country - I’m employed by Re-JIG our local recycling group, but am funded through EB Scotland.  More must be done to prevent so much marine litter, it’s so harmful to wildlife, and ugly, and as someone else mentioned, embarrassing, when sanitary towels and other ‘nasties’ litter the beaches, which so many holiday makers come to.

Jan-Erik,

Plastic tampon applicators do nothing to increase absorbency and whilst convenient in being more compact than cardboard applicators they are LESS compact than tampons without applicators and LESS convenient than all other types of tampons in that the user has to find a bin for disposal of the plastic. But that they rarely do! - the non-flushability of this type of tampon is given really low profile on the packaging and instructions. The fact is that this type of tampon is premium priced and considerably more profitable to the manufacturer who therefore invests large amounts of advertising to switch users to it and enhance their market share. A cynical piece of marketing that will mean future generations will be unable to play or swim on our beaches without contact with this type of debris. Even if disposed of ‘properly’ these products will contribute to landfill volume. This is undoubtedly an example of manufacturer innovation that society and the environment just does not need! I am sure there are other examples of plastic use that is completely inappropriate but this seems to me the most blatant.

Given that 37.7% of litter on UK beaches is directly attributable to beach users, there should be a nationwide campaign to put BIG signs up on all popular beaches, with recycling bins, and to set and police BIG fines for people caught littering on a beach. Its completely unnecessary but is all too common a sight, people just don’t seem to care what happens to their rubbish as they throw it and leave it behind. Its time to change this childish attitude.

What can be done about marine litter?  Of course we must encourage people not to drop litter on or near the sea, lakes or rivers.  But whatever we do, some litter will get accidentally or deliberately into the marine environment.  We can protect future generations against plastic pollution by making all short-life plastics from Controlled-life plastic (see d2w.net and http://www.biodeg.org) so that they will harmlessly self-destruct at the end of their useful life.

Do Bioplastics represent to solution for the future?  Yes, if they are Controlled-life plastics but not if they are crop-based (http://www.biodeg.org/files/uploaded/biodeg/Oxo_vs_Hydro-biodegradable.pdf).  In June 2009 Germany’s Institute for Energy and Environmental Research concluded that oil-based plastics, especially if recycled, have a better Life-cycle Analysis than compostable plastics.

Why can’t all plastics degrade?  They can. All plastics will eventually degrade and be bioassimilated, but modern plastics will last for many decades after they have served their purpose.  The answer is to make them biodegradable.  This is done by putting a small amount of d2w Controlled-life additive into the plastic, which breaks the molecular chains and makes it degrade then biodegrade in the presence of air, on land or at sea, in the light or the dark, in heat or cold, in whatever timescale is required, leaving NO methane, and NO toxic dust or any other harmful residues. d2w plastic can be tested according to American Standard 6954, and is certified safe for food-contact. Plastic is normally made from a by-product of oil refining which used to be wasted, so nobody is importing extra oil to make it. Oxobio can be recycled, and made from recyclate, and there is little or no additional cost.

Hi all,
I would like to make a few comments on some of the messages below.

Olaf: pls tell me in which other European countries is the plastics industry pay ing for beach clean ups.
Secondly, I think it is the task of our local authorities to keep our communes tidy. If we as citizens become ever more creative in goods we use to make our life more convenient, we have to considere that the necessary clean up actions cannot be supported with yesterdays structures.

I think the plastics industry including converters and recyclers should run a tidy shop and serves as a role model. they should support others to take well informed actions.

Hello Fran

I also hate to see waste on the beach - whether it is glass, wood, paper, metal or plastics. We simply have to work together to reduce and eventually resolve this problem.
Sanitary products should definitely not end up on a beach. The user of such products must take the responsibility and refrain from throwing them away on a beach or flushing them down a toilet. This is about respect to the environment and to other people.
We must jointly work for safe disposal options in toilets, homes and public places - and sometimes we will have to carry the used sanitary product home (why not in a plastic bag) and safely dispose it there.
To achieve this we need more and better information to trigger right behaviiour and the industry has a role to play here.
Plastics are often choosen in sanitary products for their superior benefits to the user at the lowest cost. Better absorption and better convenience are some of these benefits. The problem is what we do after the use phase and I believe we should attack this as I believe few consumers would want to go back to yesterday’s products.
Some plastics are best to recycle whilst others can be recovered in energy producing facilities where they would substitute other fuels. No plastics - or other materials - should end up on landfills or on beaches.

I think that manufacturers, not just govenment, need to to take a lot more responsibiity for building awareness about disposal of plastics - particularly in relation to the flushing of sanitary products. In addition, the industry needs to be much more proactive in finding alternatives for plastic for single use ‘disposable’ products. Given the difficulties in disposing of plastics and the use of oil in their production, plastics really are ill-suited to many single use applications - one of the worst examples of this is the relatively recent development and promotion of plastic applicator tampons which we now find washing up regularly on our shoreline. What a legacy to future generations…

I want to see an improvement in how the plastics industry contain the raw plastic pellets that they use during the injection moulding and extrusion processes. The current laws need to be tightened so that we no longer allow these pellets to enter our water courses and eventually our seas. Countless number of seabirds die each year due to ingestion of small plastic items. These small pieces of plastic can travel thousands of miles due to being swept along with prevailing winds and surface water currents. Surface feeding birds mistake them for food and eventually starve to death, usually because their digestive systems are blocked up with plastic.

As a Coast and Countryside Ranger for the local council for the last 2 years Iam astounded at the litter on the beaches of Cleveleys and Fleetwood. Plastics are the most common item which I think is partly caused by recyling in these areas. On windy days the streets are littered with spilt recyling boxes which are blown towards the sea front. We have large blue bins for waste paper which are under used. It would make sense to use the blue bins for plastics and bottles ,cans and the small green box for waste paper. The blue bin should have a weight attachment fixed to the bottom to make it more stable during strong winds. Also the amount of sanitary products washed up on the beach from the sewage outfall pipes is unbelievable. We strive for clean beach status yet these products which include plastic applicators , tear of strips , sanitary towels and wipes are strewn along the beach with every tide , it’s embarrassing. can pressure be put on United Utilities to filter theses items before they get dumped out to sea.

I visit Charmouth in Dorset UK every June and am apalled by the amount of plastic which litters the lengthy beach….all glimmering in the sun all the way into the distance…..
Councils the breadth of the UK MUST clean up their act…..
I spend a few hours of my week holiday bagging some of this up and helping to do my best but if I lived in these areas I would pick up a few items every time I walked the beach…..I think a collaborative effort by residents and importantly visitors should pick up any waste…signs should highlight this on every beach car park with recycle bins….once this is highlighted most (not all) will be happy to help…but it needs highlighting….Also there should be campaigns educating children….weekly guided school clean ups should be organised sponsored by brands whose waste contributes to this situation…you know who you are…Coke, Pepsi, Britvic, Nestle, Unilever….not to mention the horrid tobacco firms who’s cigarette butts are everywhere and wild birds think are food.

I think the fishing industry has alot to answer for as much of the litter is from this community…

Its really depressing which is why I try to do my little bit but every time I return in June the problem gets worse….heaven knows how bad its is in the plastic quagmire in the pacific….

Why cannot we have a levy on the plastics industry to pay for clearing up this mess - as in other EU countries?  Why does the local tax payer have to bear this burden?

Marine litter is an issue that the UK government and we as a society have neglected for far too long. A Marine Conservation Society Society survey in April of this year highlighted the record levels of waste washing up on this nation’s shores—and with the UK’s population set to grow by around 20m over the next 20 years, it is unlikely that this trend will reserve itself.

We need strong leadership from civil society, government and industry on this issue, and the challenge will serve as an important first step in this regard. Living on an island, beaches have played an important role in the history, heritage and culture of British society.  It would be a shame to let that rich tradition be tarnished by this generation’s collective apathy and inaction.