Leo de Vrees European Commission DG Environment Marine and Water Industry Unit

The EU and its role in reducing marine litter

Framework Marine Litter

Policy Knowledge

Measures

Awareness

Funding

Monitoring

Policy context: Legislation and policies addressing sources

• Resource efficiency and waste prevention: a Resource Efficient Europe (2012)

• Waste Management

• Waste Framework Directive Green paper

• Packaging Directive review 2014

• Landfill Directive

• Urban wastewater treatment

• Pollution from ships

• (MARPOL (Annex V)) reviewed 2012

• Port Reception Facilities Directive review 2013

The Marine Directive (2008) EU’s legal instrument for the protection of our seas

Protected: Overall objective of the Directive to achieve or maintain Good Environmental Status (GES) of the EU's marine waters by 2020

Overarching Goal: Achieve Good Environmental Status of

EU’s Marine Waters by 2020

Protected Ecosystems

Clean, healthy, productive

seas

Sustainable Uses

of Europe’s marine

resources

Common Approaches

Cooperation at the EU and

regional level

Common: Regional approach to implementation, and establishment of European Marine Regions

Sustainable: Ecosystem-based and integrated approach to the management of all human activities which have an impact on the marine environment.

Implementation Steps

• Initial assessment of current environmental status of MS waters by 15 July 2012

• Determination of GES by 15 July 2012

• Establishment of environmental targets and associated indicators by 15 July 2012

• Establishment of a monitoring programme for ongoing assessment and regular updating of targets by 15 July 2014

• Development of a programme of measures designed to achieve or maintain GES by 2015

Main elements of a Marine Strategy:

Initial assessment, objectives, targets &

indicators 2012

(+ 6 years)

Monitoring Programmes

2014

Programmes of Measures

2015

Implementation of the marine

strategy

2016

Six year review of the different

elements of the strategy

2018 – 2021

GES Descriptors

high level, generic across

Europe

GES Criteria

will be based on characteristics

which define what GES means in

each Member State

GES: Indicators & Targets

provide the final level of details. If the

targets are met, GES should be achieved

GES: Common principles, tailored indicators Illustration with Descriptor 10 on Marine Litter

Descriptor 10 – Marine litter does not cause harm to the coastal and marine environment Characteristics of litter in the marine and coastal environment •Impacts of litter on marine life Indicators: •Trends in amount of litter washed ashore and/or deposited on coastlines •Trends in amount of litter in water column and deposited on sea-floor •Trends in amount, distribution and where possible, composition of micro-particles •Trends in amount and composition of litter ingested by marine animals Targets (examples): •X% of overall reduction in the volume of litter on coastlines from 2010 levels by 2020. •Less than 10% of northern fulmars (sea bird) having more than 0.1 g plastic particles in their stomach

Policy context: Legislation and policies related to impacts

• Integrated Maritime Policy:

• Surveillance; MSP; Knowledge; Fishing litter; Lost Fishing Gear

• Marine Strategy Framework Directive

• Determine GES art 12 assessment

• Setting targets 7th EAP, RIO+20

• Monitoring TSG Litter

• Measures Pilot studies

• Integrated Coastal Zone Management

Policy context: Legislation and policies related to impacts (2)

• Water Management

• Bathing Water Directive: visual inspection for pollution and if needed, adequate management measures must be taken

• Water Framework Directive: impact on water quality/biological impacts. Possible areas of work: • Monitoring sources: waste water treatment plants, (illegal/non-managed)

landfills, recreation zones, cities, drainage systems

• Impacts: Physical and chemical

• Awareness raising: water managers and inhabitants

• Links with source control legislation

What is there in the WFD that can help?

• Good status = good chemical and good ecological status of surface and groundwaters

• For surface waters • good chemical status means meeting the

environmental quality standards for the 33 priority substances and eight "other pollutants" (12 mile in sea)

• good ecological status refers to good structure and functioning of the aquatic ecosystem, assessed on the basis of "quality elements" - biological, physico-chemical, hydromorphological (1 mile in sea)

• No direct reference to "litter"

9

How meeting WFD good chemical status can help (1)

• Article 16 WFD requires measures against pollution of water by individual or groups of pollutants presenting a significant risk to or via the aquatic environment

• Measures shall be aimed at the progressive reduction of priority substances (PS) and the cessation or phasing out of discharges, emissions and losses of priority hazardous substances (PHS) (PBTs and substances of equivalent concern)

• Selection of substances is based on risk assessment (exposure and hazard)

• Article 8 WFD requires monitoring of the priority substances and eight "other pollutants"

10

How meeting WFD good chemical status can help (2)

• Leaching of substances from (plastic) litter is relevant (e.g. plasticizing DEHP is a priority substance)

• REACH Article 61 refers to review of substance authorisations in relevant river basins if WFD environmental objectives are not being met

• Therefore if WFD chemical monitoring shows that priority substances or the other pollutants are an issue, e.g. through leaching, action could be taken under REACH

• Some priority substances (those that bioaccumulate) are already monitored in biota. This is likely to increase and could provide scope for increased monitoring of the presence of microplastics in biota

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How meeting WFD good ecological status can help (3)

• Physico-chemical quality elements include river basin specific pollutants, i.e .pollutants discharged into water bodies in significant quantities. Member States must set and meet standards for the relevant substances

• Physico-chemical quality elements also include (for lakes, transitional and coastal waters) "transparency", which could potentially be affected by (plastic) litter

• Hydromorphological elements include the structure and substrate of the river/lake/water-body bed, which could also be influenced by litter

• Article 8 WFD requires monitoring of ecological status.

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Monitoring

ToR of TSG Marine litter

• Develop common monitor protocols: beach litter; floating/column; sea floor; micro-plastics; ingested litter; standardization of categories

• Evaluate new monitoring tools

• Estimate the costs of monitoring

• Identification of sources incl. riverine input

• Assess harm

Eye on Earth EEA): pilot on marine litter for citizen science

Research

• We do know: main sources; composition; anecdotic proof of abundance and impacts (ingested, entangled)

• There is a growing concern on micro-plastics incl. fibres; chemicals; vector NIS

• Filling knowledge gaps through RTD projects:

• ECsafeFood; BIOCLEAN;

• CLEANSEA; HERMONIA; PERSEUS; STAGES; GESAMP

• Interreg:

• MICRO (micro-plastics in the North Sea)

Awareness

• AWARENESS is growing with policy makers at EU and MS level, industries (producers, retailers)

• Prep meetings with sectors since 2011

TO INCREASE PUBLIC AWARENESS:

• MARLISCO: Marine litter in European Seas: Social Awareness and Co-responsibility. Includes making available knowledge to policy makers

• Fishing for litter (sponsored by Life+)

• Green Public Procurement; Ecolabel scheme

Funding possibilities

• Life+

• FP7 and Horizon 2020

• Competiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (environmentally-friendly packaging)

• Structural funds

• Cohesion

• European Maritime and Fisheries Fund

• Regional development (INTERREG IVC)

• Pre-accession Assistance

Measures: 3 Pilot projects

Objectives

• To identify loopholes in marine litter in 4 regional seas (Riga, Oostende, Barcelona, Konstanza)

• To identify loopholes in plastic packaging waste in less performing countries in EU and 3 in MED (Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco)

• To prevent littering (human behaviour) and analyse (combination of) measures

Measures: Pilot project Litter Removal

• Assessment of best practices: existing forms of marine litter removal, such as the various Fishing for Litter (FFL) initiatives, will be assessed from an organisational, economic and environmental angle, with a view to define what good practises are.

• Setting up marine litter removal pilot projects: to launch or maintain self-sustaining projects (business cases) in all 4 regional seas. Local host organisations will be identified.

• Dissemination of the results: toolkit for use by stakeholders that want to start litter removal actions.

• The EU fishing community along with EU plastics producers, converters and recyclers, local authorities, waste managers and NGOs will be engaged in several steps of the project.

• Co-organized by UBA Germany and EC

• 200 participants from MS, local authorities, stakeholders

• Representation of 4 regional sea conventions

• Target setting; measures; best practices; new initiatives; regional action plans; declaration

• www.marine-litter-conference-berlin.info.

Time lines with regard to Marine Litter (1)

• < Oct 2012 ….Council 2009; workshop 2010; Hawaii 2011; Rio 2012, MS reports 2012

• Oct 2012: Commission Staff Working Document published

• Dec 2012: Commission proposed in 7th EAP to develop an EU wide target on marine litter

• Jan 2013: Three pilot projects finished on sources of and measures against marine litter

• Feb 2013: Pilot project on litter removal started • Mar 2013: Green paper on plastic in the

environment published

Time lines with regard to Marine Litter (2)

• Apr 2013: International conference on marine litter in Berlin

• Autumn 2013: Assessment (art 12) report of MSFD

• 2013: Regional Action Plans per Regional Sea area developed

• Oct 2013: HELCOM Ministerial meeting

• Autumn 2013: OSPAR workshop on RAP Litter

• End 2013: COP Barcelona

• 2014: Year of Review of waste legislation/policies

• July 2014: Monitoring programmes MSFD

• 2015: Programme of measures MSFD

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/marine

Thank you for your attention!