Action 50: Highlighting the top marine litter problem items
Action Title: Engage in a dialogue with industry aimed at highlighting the top marine litter problem items based on OSPAR Beach monitoring surveys and/or other evidence on impacts.
Lead Party(ies): France, with participation from Spain, Portugal, the United Kingdom and Ireland
What is the issue?
Maintaining an open dialogue with industry is a responsibility shared by all OSPAR Contracting Parties to ensure coherent responses to addressing the problem of marine litter throughout the supply chain. This action has been implemented through several other actions.
What has OSPAR Done?
The top marine litter items have been identified and addressed through other Actions, for example Action 48, which considers items such as cigarette butts, cotton buds, balloons, shotgun wads, biofilm support media. This issue also aligns with the adoption of the Single Use Plastics Directive, which from July 2021 bans the top ten most found single use plastic items found on Europe’s beaches.
OSPAR conducts periodic assessments of beach litter in the OSPAR Maritime Area. You can find the latest assessments here
Final outputs and published reports
This action is considered to be part of the ongoing dialogue with industry and one in which all Contracting Parties have a responsibility.
