Action 43: Incentives to reduce single-use and other items
Action Title: Assess relevant instruments and incentives to reduce the use of single-use and other items, which impact the marine environment, including the illustration of the associated costs and environmental impacts.
Lead Party(ies): Ireland, Germany, Portugal, the Netherlands and Seas at Risk
What is the issue?
Single use items represent the dominant fraction of litter that ends up in the marine environment. These items come from a wide range of different sources and via different pathways and have a range of implications for wildlife and marine habitats as well as economic activities including fishing, tourism, and human health.
This action aimed to understand regulatory and economic instruments designed to reduce single use plastics ending up in the marine environment - from production to waste reduction.
What has OSPAR Done?
OSPAR undertook an evaluation of the regulatory and economic instruments designed to reduce the impact and the consumption of single use items that commonly become marine litter. This report was finalised in late January 2018. Following the publication of Directive EU 2019/904 on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment the focus of the action shifted and a comparison was undertaken between the commissioned Action 43 report and the measures set out in the Directive to identify any differences.
