European Union |
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- launch of WISE-Marine, a gateway to information on European water issues for the general public and stakeholders to promote better ocean governance and ecosystem-based management. The platform will be expanded and integrated further in the years to come.
- contribution of EUR 2 million in 2017 to support the implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive by the Member States and a further 2.3 million to support regional and inter-regional cooperation for this objective. The EU law aims to achieve Good Environmental Status (GES) of the waters of EU Member States by 2020 and to protect the resource base upon which marine-related economic and social activities depend.
- EUR 2.85 million to marine pollution prevention and preparedness projects and EUR 2.5 million to marine pollution exercises, to support and complement the cross-border cooperation efforts between EU countries and with selected countries in the EU’s vicinity.
- As part of its upcoming plastics strategy, the European Union announced draft measures to reduce the leakage of plastics into the environment by the end of 2017.draft measures in 2017 to reduce the discharges of ship-generated waste and cargo residues into the sea.
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| European Commission |
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- announced that it will phase out by end 2017 all single-use plastic cups in water fountains and vending machines in all its buildings and meetings. It also committed to report on all its efforts towards a further reduction of the use of other single-use plastic items in all its building and events at the occasion of the 2018 Our Ocean Conference. Measures to achieve this will include improving its green public procurement, reducing single-use plastics in canteens and cafeterias, promoting use of tap water, launching a wider awareness raising campaign for staff on waste reduction, sorting and recycling and greening Commission events.
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| Australia |
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- announced the update of the threat abatement plan prepared in 2009, by mid-2018 aiming at providing national guidance on specific action to prevent and mitigate the impacts of marine debris. Injury and fatality to vertebrate marine life caused by harmful marine debris was listed as a key threatening process under Australia’s Environment law. The plan update addresses six objectives, including the removal of existing marine debris and the increase of public awareness of the issue.announced that its national research agency, CSIRO, is leading a project, with a budget of EUR 1,33 million (AUD 2 million), from 2017-2020. Its objective is to use field sampling and mathematical modelling to document the distribution of plastic in the ocean on the coast and in the nearshore environment generated by 6-8 major urban centers and surrounding areas that have been identified as having significant waste mis-management or losses into the marine environment.
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| Austria |
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- Austria together with major trade companies, Greenpeace and Global 2000, reaffirmed their commitment to reduce carrier bags. The objective is to reach a maximum of 25 plastic bags per person a year and reduce the use of disposable carrier bags made from other materials such as paper by 2025. Disposable carrier bags made from all types of materials will only be handed out against payment. Austria will publish an annual report to assess the progress achieved.
- Austria reaffirmed its commitment to invest EUR 60 million per year in waste water treatment between 2017 and 2021. This will contribute to reduce nutrient and hazardous substances emissions into Austrian rivers, which in turn contribute to the reduction of discharges from catchment to sea. Austria also announced its Agri-Environmental scheme ÖPUL will contribute EUR 65 million per year for greening of arable land and management of arable surfaces threatened by erosion and EUR 700,000 per year for preventative surface water protection (buffer strips).
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| Bangladesh |
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- announced that the legislative measures in force resulted in the ban of plastic shopping bags production. They will be reinforced by committing further resources to prevent the production and significantly reduce the use of plastic shopping bags by 2025. In a first phase, plastic production will be reduced by 60% by 2019.
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| Belgium |
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- announced that by the end of 2017 it will adopt its federal action plan to combat marine litter, the scope of which will be broad and will include macro and microliter, land-based and sea-based sources, litter from the fisheries sector, single use plastic materials and primary microplastics. It will foresee cleaning and awareness raising activities. It will also focus on the collaboration on the national and international levels.
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| Canada |
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- reaffirmed that in June 2017 it published the Microbeads in Toiletries Regulations that will prohibit the manufacture, import and sale of all toiletries that contain plastic microbeads including cosmetics. The regulations will prohibit the manufacture, import, and sale of toiletries used to exfoliate or cleanse that contain plastic microbeads, including non-prescription drugs and natural health products. For the purposes of the regulations, plastic microbeads include any plastic particle equal to or less than 5 mm in size. The types of toiletries covered include products such as bath and body products, skin cleansers and toothpaste. The ban on sale, manufacture and import for all toiletries and natural health products will be phased in from January 1, 2018 to July 1, 2019.
- reaffirmed that it joined the UN Environment Clean Seas Campaign in July 2017 as part of Canada’s commitment to take action on marine litter. The Government of Canada will continue to work with provincial and territorial governments, under the auspices of the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME), to improve Canada’s record on reducing and recycling waste and implement the CCME waste action plan.
- reaffirmed EUR 772,624 (CAD 1,134,000) in support announced in February 2017 for two new research projects to monitor contaminants and investigate their impacts in the Pacific and Arctic Oceans, in partnership with the Vancouver Aquarium. Fisheries and Oceans Canada is providing EUR 271,850 (CAD 399,000) to the Vancouver Aquarium to help implement Pollution Tracker. This project will sample mussels and near-shore sediment along the coast of British Columbia to collect data on a wide range of contaminants. A further EUR 146,485 (CAD 215,000) is being provided for the Vancouver Aquarium study, for the first time, microplastics in the Arctic Ocean and their biological effects on marine life. An additional EUR 354,290 (CAD 520,000) in in-kind support, such as vessel use, will be provided by Fisheries and Oceans Canada to assist in the collection of samples.
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| Chile |
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- announced that it will ban plastic bags in coastal cities throughout the country. Once the law is approved by the National Congress, Chile will be the first American country to implement this type of ban.
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| China |
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- announced EUR 8 million (USD 9 million) worth national research projects to develop marine micro plastics, jellyfish, red tide, pathogenic microorganisms monitoring and preventing technology. China also announced its intention to focus on the elimination of plastic waste pollution in estuaries and bays and to formulate plans for action against pollution from marine wastes.
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| Denmark |
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- Denmark announced EUR 400,000 (DKK 3 million) for an awareness raising campaign on marine litter in 2018 targeting all types of fishers, people on boats and in harbours as well as those visiting the beaches.
- announced it has allocated EUR 161,300 for a first beach litter survey in selected 4 areas in Greenland including monitoring of microplastic in fulmars.
- announced its intentions to support the development and implementation of Indonesia’s National Marine Debris Action Plan with EUR 1,273 million (USD 1,500,000). Indonesia aims to reduce by 70% the plastic debris by 2025 in comparison to 2017.
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| France |
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- France announced that it is committed to ban single-use plastic cups, glasses and plates by 1 January 2020. France also announced that it will no longer sell cosmetic products containing plastic microbeads by 1 January 2018 and cotton buds with plastic stems by 1 January 2020.
- announced EUR 500,000 to UNEP activities under the Global Partnership on Marine Litter (GPML) from 2017 to 2020.
- announced that it will create by 1st January 2018 a structured network that will address the issue of end-of-life recreational craft. By 2021, 26,000 ships will be dismantled. This action will help improve waste disposal and promote circular economy.
- announced that over the next five years it will develop cross-border cooperation under the Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea (REMPEC) to prosecute polluters responsible for oil spills in the Western Mediterranean Sea.
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| Germany |
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- Germany announced the launch of the G20 Action Plan on Marine Litter as part of its 2017 G20-Agenda. Upon proposal by Germany, the G20 Heads of State and Government have confirmed their commitment to protect the marine environment by adopting measures to address pollution from land-based and sea-based sources; provide financial resources for cost-effectiveness analyses, and to prevent or reduce marine litter. The plan sets effective actions, e.g. to facilitate the implementation of the polluter pays approach, ‘extended producer responsibility’ or deposit schemes; develop new sources of funding for effective waste management systems and to stimulate innovations. It further addresses education and awareness raising, as well as additional research needs. As part of the action plan, a voluntary “Global Network of the Committed” has been launched in order to support the implementation of measures defined in the action plan.
- commits EUR 30 million in 2017 to the implementation of development projects under the “Ten-point Plan of Action for Marine Conservation and Sustainable Fisheries”. This includes inter alia funding for projects which serve the implementation of the G20 Action Plan on Marine Litter. Also in this context, Germany commits to further advance the implementation of the “Blue Action Fund” for marine conservation together with the Swedish Government that is joining the Blue Action Fund in 2017.
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| Ghana |
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- Ghana announced its commitment to eliminate pollution along the country’s coast and significantly reduce pollution in the marine ecosystem by 2025, by tackling the current challenges posed by the use of plastics and indiscriminate disposal of waste.
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| Indonesia |
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- Indonesia announced it will launch a National Action Plan on Marine Plastic Debris to achieve a reduction of 70% of its plastic debris by the end of 2025, therefore contributing to its national ambition to become trash-free. Indonesia also announced it will invest up to EUR 0.85 billion to develop a national programme to address the management of waste from land-based sources over the next four years. In addition, Indonesia announced the inclusion of the issue of Marine Plastic Debris in its national education programme
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| Ireland |
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- Ireland reaffirmed that by end 2018 it will introduce national legislation to prohibit the sale or manufacture of certain products containing microbeads including not just cosmetics but also body care and cleansing products as well as detergents and abrasive surface cleaning products.
- announced EUR 320,000 in funding to the Clean Coasts Programme for 2017 and commits to funding on an on-going basis in future years. This programme, operated by An Taisce, Ireland’s National Trust, engages communities to work actively with local authorities to protect Ireland’s beaches, seas and marine life. This Programme comprises Clean Coasts Volunteering (with over 550 Clean Coasts volunteer groups established to date) and the highly sought after Green Coast Award (62 beaches awarded the Green Coast award in Ireland in 2017).
- announced the expansion of its 2015 “Fishing for Litter” programme to a further 2 ports/piers and 15 vessels which has encouraged fishermen to retain marine litter brought up in their nets for onshore disposal, with 46 trawlers in 7 different ports around the Irish coast now participating in that programme.
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| Japan |
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- Japan reaffirmed EUR 13.6 million (USD 15 million) support to the Japanese Technical Cooperation Project of Regional Initiative on Solid Waste Management (J-PRISM) in Pacific Island Countries Phase II (February 2017 to February 2022), which is based on the outcomes of J-PRISM Phase I (February 2011 to February 2016). This Project aims to strengthen both human and institutional capacity.
- announced allocation of approximately EUR 3.6 million (USD 4 million) for the period between March 2017 and February 2022 to the Technical Cooperation Project for Comprehensive Assessment and Conservation of Blue Carbon Ecosystems and Their Services in the Coral Triangle (Blue CARES), which consists in carrying out a comprehensive evaluation of Blue Carbon policies in Indonesia and the Philippines with the aim to propose a blue carbon conservation strategy in order to mitigate biodiversity loss and realize environmental improvements. This joint academic research project (Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines) will include the deployment of experts on Coastal and Marine Resources Management in February 2018.
- announced EUR 40,000 (USD 44,000) to the trust fund to assist the participation of the Japan announced EUR 40,000 (USD 44,000) to the (SIDS) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs) at the United Nations Conference to Support the Implementation Of Sustainable Development Goal 14. For this Conference, Japan registered 11 voluntary commitments focusing on marine debris, ocean acidification, sustainable fisheries and assistance to SIDS. Japan announced technical assistance to train 5,000 people of SIDs over 3 years from 2015, out of which more than 4,000 people were already trained by the end of 2016.
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| Korea |
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- Korea reaffirmed its commitment to invest EUR 28 million (USD 33 million) annually to manage the marine environment around the Korean Peninsula. This includes monitoring the inflow of pollutants into the sea and restoring coastal ecosystems. Korea will also conduct research on marine litter and collect marine waste from the seabed.
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| Malta |
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- Malta announced it will commit to introduce a beverage container refund scheme by the end of 2019 to ensure that at least 70% of the plastic bottles generated in its islands are recovered and mitigate the impact of marine litter on the ocean.
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| Mauritius |
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- Mauritius announced to increase research on the possible link of contaminated seafood consumption with the rise in diseases such as cancer by studying the accumulation of microplastics in the marine food chain and its potential impact on human health in the period 2017 to 2022.
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| Norway |
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- Norway announced a multi-annual programme to assist developing countries in improving waste management to prevent land-based litter from ending up in the ocean, including plastics and microplastics. Beach and coastal clean-ups may also be part of the initiative. The programme will be launched in 2018 with NOK 150 million – approximately EUR 16.2 million – set aside for the first year.
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| New Zealand |
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- New Zealand announced it will ban all ‘wash-off’ products that contain plastic microbeads for exfoliating, cleansing or abrasive cleaning purposes. As well as personal care products, this includes household, car or other cleaning products. The ban will come into effect by May 2018.
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| Panama |
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- Panama announced that by 2018 it will contribute more than EUR 850,256,000 (USD 1 billion) to the panama city and bay sanitation project to ensure the marine contamination is reduced and the health of Panama bay and marine ecosystems are restored.
- announced the ratification of the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments ships 2004 (BWM) in Law 41 of September, 2016
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| The Republic of Palau |
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- The Republic of Palau announced that it has introduced a legislation to ban the importation of plastic bags, phasing out by 2025.
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| The Philippines |
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- The Philippines announced that it committed to address further marine pollution in its waters originating in land sources. To this end, the Philippines will adopt by 2017 the Coastal and Marine Ecosystem Management Program (CMEMP) employing an Integrated Coastal Management approach. Both actions are expected to reduce spot pollution sources by 50% as compared to 2017 and increase by 20% the number of households adopting eco-waste management by 2028.
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| Portugal |
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- By 2020, Portugal reaffirmed its commitment to develop technological platforms and tools that reduce marine pollution and promote the circular economy of the sea.
- announced the expansion of the project “Fisheries for a Sea Without Litter” by 2030 to all fishing ports in the Portuguese mainland.
- reaffirmed the intention to work at the regional level, within the OSPAR Convention, for the reduction of marine litter in the Atlantic.
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| Sri Lanka |
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- Sri Lanka announced its commitment to make the country polythene-free and to find a sustainable solution to ocean pollution and solid waste management. To this end, it will take measures including the ban on the import, manufacture and sale of harmful polythene products and the ban on the use of polythene for decorations.
- announced that, in 2017, it commenced projects aimed at encouraging the separation of waste with the aim of recycling and is also exploring sewage energy generation projects.
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| Sweden |
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- Sweden announced the allocation of EUR 3.7 million (SEK 36 million) over the next three four years for a set of initiatives by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to support governments, industry and society in Eastern and Southern Africa and the Asia Pacific regions in promoting, enacting and enforcing legislation and other measures to contain and reduce marine plastic pollution.
- announced the allocation of EUR 53 million (SEK 528 million) in 2017 to address marine pollution in three main areas: removal of hazardous substances particularly in wrecks, treatment of the accumulated fiber banks from industrial process water and reduction of the amount of pharmaceuticals to the marine environment; combat eutrophication through for example the application of measures to reduce the internal load of phosphorus in lakes and coastal bays, the restoration and construction of wetlands, the development of blue catch-crops and the reduction of nutrients’ outflow; management of plastic in a responsible way through actions including beach cleaning, development of new materials, cleaning of storm water and global support for biodiversity.
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| Turkey |
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- Turkey announced that it will develop Marine Litter Action Plans for all coastal cities by the end of 2018. Clean-up activities, pollution reduction studies will be reported annually and minimization of marine litter will be conducted with relevant sectors such as plastics, cosmetics and textile within the framework of above mentioned Action Plans. Starting from 1 January 2019 pricing of plastic bags will be on the agenda.
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| The United Kingdom |
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- The United Kingdom announced EUR 566,700 (GBP 500,000) to launch a new ‘litter innovation fund’ to trial small scale projects that could be replicated more widely, including those aimed at reducing litter entering the marine environment.
- announced the adoption of a Litter Strategy for England. The strategy aims to apply best practice in education, enforcement and infrastructure to deliver a substantial reduction in litter and littering behaviour on land, which in turn will lead to a reduction in the amount of litter reaching the marine environment. The Government will work with industry and community partners to implement this strategy. This is in addition to existing Litter Strategies in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
- announced its commitment to banning plastic microbeads in rinse-off cosmetics and personal care products to protect the marine environment from avoidable microplastic pollution. It anticipates having bans on both manufacture and sale of such products in place across the whole of the UK by the end of June 2018.
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| The United Statesof America |
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- The United States announced a contribution of up to EUR 418,000 (USD 500,000) to the New Plastics Economy Initiative’s Circular Design Challenge. A partnership among USAID, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, and a coalition of private companies and foundations, the Challenge will identify solutions to advance the development of new packaging formats and alternative delivery models for plastics.
- announced up to EUR 7.6 million (USD 9.1 million) over four years for the establishment of a small grants portfolio on waste recycling that will focus on municipal waste management and recycling efforts in Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam. The objective is to improve waste management practices and reduce the amount of marine-bound plastics. The program will also evaluate the effectiveness of promising grants and provide recommendations on how USAID may scale these efforts.
- announced a public-private partnership that has deployed a joint U.S.-EU public diplomacy and education exhibit on marine debris and plastics. A partnership with the EU, several U.S. Embassies, civil society, and multiple private sector organizations, the exhibit highlighted U.S. and EU leadership on ocean issues, including the Trash Free Seas Alliance. The exhibit traveled across the EU, from Copenhagen to Tallinn, Lisbon, and Valletta, and later Genoa, reaching hundreds of thousands of visitors as a flagship joint U.S.-EU diplomacy effort on marine debris. For more detail, see https://ourocean2017.org/campaigns/tackling-plastic-pollution-ocean.
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| The forty-three Union for the Mediterranean countries |
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- The forty-three Union for the Mediterranean countries announced their agreement to set up by February 2018 a Task Force on Environment in order to facilitate the implementation, among others, of the H2020 Initiative for a Cleaner Mediterranean, which is joining efforts of all committed stakeholders in addressing the 80 per cent of the sources of pollution of the Mediterranean Sea by the year 2020. They agreed as well to define priorities, operational modalities and a work programme for depollution and pollution prevention of the Mediterranean Sea for the post-2020 period.
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| Private and others |
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- The Aquarium Conservation Partnership (ACP), an initiative designed to increase the collective impact of aquariums on shared ocean and freshwater conservation goals, announced the elimination of plastic straws and single-use take-away plastic bags in its 19 member aquariums as of 10 July 2017, and the significant reduction or elimination of single-use plastic beverage bottles in member aquariums by 1 December 2020. Founded by Monterey Bay Aquarium, Shedd Aquarium, and National Aquarium, the ACP also committed to showcasing innovative alternatives to single-use plastic for its millions of visitors. The members of the Aquarium Conservation Partnership are committed to allocate annually EUR 210,000.Borealis AG announced an investment of EUR 15 million to advance mechanical recycling of Polyolefins, further to the acquisition of Germany’s polyolefin recycling company mtm plastics GmbH.
Borealis AG announced a EUR 4 million initiative to accelerate waste management improvements in South-East Asia to be rolled out in 2018-2019, driven and to be co-funded with local and global partners.
Borealis AG announced its commitment to zero pellet loss from its operations and to substantially invest in best available technology to prevent pellet loss.
- The 50,000 companies (FMCG companies and retailers) selling packaged products in France announced that they will contribute to the national target of 75% of household packaging recycling, notably through their commitment to invest on top of their EPR obligation, an additional EUR 113,000,000 from 2016 to 2017 and a further EUR 150 million from 2018 to 2022 in view of boosting selective waste collection, thereby saving natural resources and reducing litter.
- The companies selling beverages in France announced a EUR 15,000,000 commitment by 2019 to implement the “Chaque Bouteille Compte (Each bottle counts) programme”. This programme will improve the recycling rate of PET bottles, starting with two pilot projects in Paris and Marseille. This will contribute to saving natural resources and reducing litter.
- The Camp for Future Generations Foundation announced a commitment of EUR 250,000 over the next two years to create a Plastic and Ocean Platform, coalition of scientists and NGOs to produce a common scientific position and enhance action on marine litter.
- Clean Oceans International announced their commitment to deploy One hundred PTF500 units (Plastic To Fuel, 500 pounds/day) globally by 2022. Besides placing them on ships and on beaches, this commitment includes community education and monitoring the local environment to assess the impact of these units. 100 units, operating 300 days per year eliminate EUR 16 million (15 million pounds) of waste plastic that could otherwise harm the ocean environment. PPTF (Portable Plastic to Fuel) units go where the plastics are, in particular small communities and islands, and produce readily usable fuel without further refining.
- The Coca-Cola Company announced that it will make all its consumer packaging 100% recyclable by 2025. While the great majority of the bottles and cans used to distribute its products are already 100% recyclable, the Company will expand 100% recyclability to its entire consumer packaging range (including pouches, cartons and others). This is one of many steps Coca-Cola will take to ensure its packaging gets recycled and does not end up in the wrong place, in particular our oceans. The Coca-Cola Company is building a more holistic packaging plan to move forward these efforts and will share details in the coming months.
- The Dow Chemical Company announced EUR 128,100 (USD 151,000) funding for three new research project to help solve the issue of plastics marine litter. Two projects, one each in Japan and Indonesia, will set up systems to measure the flow of trash into the ocean, and will then propose solutions, based on that information, to prevent the characterized waste from reaching the ocean. The third project will test the use of non-recycled plastic in roadways in Indonesia, to help create a new end-use market for collected materials that might otherwise end up in the environment. This will help drive collection of low value plastics, keeping these materials out of the ocean.
- ECOALF, by means of its Foundation supported by HAP FOUNDATION, in partnership with ECOEMBES and with the collaboration of the Spanish Fishing Confederation, announced that it will be extending the “Upcycling the Oceans” project to the whole Spanish Mediterranean coast and test it also in the Atlantic Ocean. By 2018, the number of ports involved will be expanded from 32 to 60 and from 440 trawlers to 770, removing 200 tonnes of marine debris. The Project is helping rid the oceans of rubbish through partnership with the fishing sector and is giving a new life to the collected trash turning it into polyester garments, through a circular economy project.
- The Ellen MacArthur Foundation announced and awarded the winners of its Circular Design Challenge with EUR 850,000 (USD 1 million) prize money. The challenge was launched together with the Prince of Wales’s International Sustainability Unit and is funded by Wendy Schmidt. Together with a 12-month accelerator programme, the prize money will help scale design solutions that keep plastics in the economy, and out of the ocean. The challenge is part of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s three-year New Plastics Economy initiative, applying the principles of the circular economy to build a plastics system that works.
- Environmental Law Institute announced its continued effort under the ELI Gulf of Mexico Restoration and Recovery Initiative, through which ELI attorneys analyze the variety of restoration funding processes in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and translate them in accessible ways for local stakeholders. This project has been made possible thanks to a generous EUR 468,000 grant from the Walton Family Foundation.
- Environmental Law Institute announced as the secretariat of the International Network for Environmental Compliance and Enforcement (INECE) EUR 85,000 for the INECE Seaports Training campaign, to provide training on illegal shipments of hazardous and other waste, as well as Ozone Depleting Substances in Kenya, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, in addition to a West African regional training for officials from Senegal, Togo, Benin, and Ghana. In total, over 100 port officials have received training during the last twelve months.
- Fourth Element announced its commitment to develop new products from recycled materials and to replace existing materials with recycled polyester from post-consumer plastics such as plastic bottles as well as increasing the range of its products utilising yarn from recycling fishing nets and ropes. It has already developed the Ocean Positive swimwear range, which is made using recycled nylon from “ghost” fishing nets, abandoned or lost by fishing vessels. Fourth Element also announced it will eradicate all forms of plastic in its packaging for all products by 2020.
- The GEF announced a EUR 35.9 million (USD 42.3 million) commitment to the MedProgramme to address nutrient pollution in the Mediterranean, enhance region wide environmental monitoring and protect key coastal freshwater resources. The Mediterranean Sea Programme (the MedProgramme): builds on several successful GEF projects in the Mediterranean and on the legal framework provided by the Barcelona Convention and its protocols. The Programme is implemented by the United Nations Environment and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and will increase capacity across the region and result in a reduction of nutrients and chemicals reaching the Mediterranean Sea, which is currently causing coastal ecosystem degradation and potentially affecting the health and quality of life of millions of people in the coastal areas of the Mediterranean. This program consists of several subprojects, including those managed by EIB under the Mediterranean Hotspots Investment Programme (MeHSIP). The MeHSIP aims at assisting promoters with the preparation of projects in the environmental sector that address the main sources of pollution entering the Mediterranean Sea. A USD 7 million GEF contribution will allow MeHSIP to prepare subprojects leveraging an expected implementation value of USD 500 million.
- Gestes Propres (founding member of the CLEAN EUROPE NETWORK), in partnership with a number of companies (Ball Packaging, Citeo, Coca-Cola European Partners, Danone Eaux, ELIPSO (plastic packaging industry organisation), Gecina Foundation, Haribo, Heineken, InterEmballage, Nestlé Waters, P&G, Total), France and the French Mayors Association, announced to further develop their two awareness campaigns on the impacts litter of marine litter. They committed to reach 1.5 billion views by 2020 with the “You could leave a better footprint on the planet” campaign and involve 400,000 sailboats and 100 ports by 2020 with the “I sail, I sort waste” campaign.
- Under the framework of the Intergovernmental Joint Programming Initiative JPI Oceans; Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden, have an ongoing commitment of over 7.5 million EUR on transnational research projects, investigating microplastics in the marine environment. The research will, by 2018, promote the validation and harmonisation of methodologies and protocols for microplastics research, a key concern raised in the respective G7 and G20 Action Plans to Combat Marine Litter.
- Kaneka announced that within the coming 3 years they will support the development of PHBH based marine biodegradable applications to reduce the environmental impact of plastic leakage in the ocean. Kaneka will further work-out the industrial scale production of the biodegradable polymer PHBH, a polyhydroxyalkanoate, which is a natural polymer produced by the metabolism of micro-organisms. It will also further study the biodegradation and eco toxicity of PHBH related applications which will be used not only in the marine field but also in other industrial and consumer product.
- The Italian National Research Council reaffirmed its commitment to find innovative solutions to prevent microplastic pollution from laundry wastewater at source. It is working to reduce the microplastic release from the washing of synthetic fabrics by fifty per cent by 2020. It will build on the outcome of the Life Mermaids project.
- Legambiente ONLUS announced its commitment to promote a ban in the Mediterranean countries on plastic carrier bags below 100 microns (except bags for primary transport) biodegradable and compostable certified EN 13432 or ISO 14855 through at least 30 events, within the campaigns Clean up the Med/spiagge e Fondali Puliti, involving other Mediterranean organizations.
- The Lonely Whale Foundation announced its commitment to permanently eliminating 15 billion single use plastic straws by 2020.
- Marine Construction Technologies announced the reduction of underwater noise, resulting from impact-driving upon fish, marine mammals, and other sensitive wildlife, by 70-90 per cent per pile. It announced as well the reduction of construction-related noise pollution associated with steel marine foundations worldwide by 15 per cent by 2022.
- Marks & Spencer announced that all its plastic packaging in the UK will be 100% recyclable and widely recycled by 2022. It will work to eliminate packaging that strays into the environment (particularly oceans) and actively design out packaging parts that can’t be reused or recycled. It will introduce products with reclaimed social plastics as a component, providing positive social benefit to the communities from which the materials are sourced. In addition, M&S will assess the feasibility for all its plastic packaging to be made from one polymer group by 2022 to reduce consumer confusion and to improve recycling.
- Mars announced to reach 100% recyclability of its packaging by 2025, with the aim of reducing its carbon footprint over the lifetime.
- The National Aquarium announced its commitment to divert at least one million single-use plastic bottles from the waste stream and ultimately the ocean by 2020, while also continuing not to offer single-use plastic bags or plastic straws or any plastic cutlery, and decrease by 50 per cent plastic throughout its operations by 2020.
- Ocean Conservancy, the Trash Free Seas Alliance, and Closed Loop Partners, with the support of world leading brands, including Procter & Gamble, 3M, PepsiCo, and plastic makers from the American Chemistry Council and the World Plastics Council, announced the formation of a new initiative to reduce marine debris through improving waste collection, recycling and reuse. The initiative, which will be led by Closed Loop Partners, aims to create a new funding mechanism to raise over EUR 128 million (USD 150 million) over five years to improve waste collection, sorting, and recycling markets in Southeast Asia. The funding mechanism will: catalyse new investments from the private sector, governments and development finance institutions; demonstrate solutions; build a pipeline of bankable waste management infrastructure projects to demonstrate investment viability; and maximize recycling profitability.
- OLSPS announced it will develop a global, interactive and educational citizen science tool by 2018 which will enable sea goers, of various skills, to collect and send observational data to a central database. These data will contribute to the mapping of the oceans in terms of wildlife, pollution, vessels and maritime activities, as well as encourage citizens to interact with the oceans and engage with various conservation efforts.
- PepsiCo announced its ambition to design 100% of its packaging to be recyclable, compostable or biodegradable, increase recycled materials in its plastic packaging, reduce packaging’s carbon impact, and in partnership with the PepsiCo Foundation, work to increase recycling rates by 2025.
- Plastic Maker Hubs announced the creation of 25 Plastic Maker Hubs by 2020 where waste pickers convert plastic waste into new products, creating a brand of ‘ethical plastics’. The initiative aims to: train 250 women waste pickers by 2020 to become recycling micro-entrepreneurs (foreseen budget of EUR 70,000); build a premium brand or an Open Design Platform around ethical plastic by 2018; develop a recognizable product mark providing assurance of social, environmental and quality standards at global level by 2025.
- Plastic Change announced the launch of the new Expedition Plastic from Hawaii to Jakarta by the end of 2017. In partnership with UN Environment, the Blue Planet aquarium, several American embassies and the shipping company NORDEN, the expedition will last until 2020 with an overall budget of EUR 600,000. The expedition will conduct samples of ocean plastic pollution, will create awareness of the issue by reaching out to media and strategic partners and will produce European learning material based on the expedition’s results.
- The Plastic Solutions Fund announced its intention to raise EUR 12.6 million (USD 15 million) over the next three years to combat the problem of single use and other disposable plastic packaging, with EUR 9 million already committed. The Plastic Solutions Fund has been established to support non-profit organizations, particularly in Asia, the European Union and the United States, that want to transform plastics packaging supply chains, reducing not only the amount of this plastic that enters the environment, but the amount that is manufactured in the first place. The Plastic Solutions Fund announced it has given EUR 2.1 million (USD 2.5million) in grants to fifteen organizations since January, ranging in size from EUR 21,000 (USD 25,000) to EUR 421,000 (USD 500,000) per annum.
- The Plastic Soup Foundation, Smäll, Shaping Environmental Action and Plastic Disclosure Project announced the launch of the app “My Little Plastic Footprint”. The app will provide individuals from all over the world a better insight into the question of how to reduce their own plastic footprint and take action on marine litter. The app is supported by and part of the Clean Seas Campaign of UNE.
- P&G Dish Care announced that will introduce a limited-edition Beach Plastic bottle, with 10 per cent of the resin bottle coming from recovered beach plastic and 90 per cent standard PCR. In partnership with recycling experts at TerraCycle, this innovation will come to the UK in 2018 available at one world’s leading retailer. This action is the result of a strategic alliance between Terracycle and will serve to find innovative uses for beach plastic while raising consumer awareness of the ocean plastic issue. This initiative complements P&G’s support of the Trash Free Seas Alliance efforts to dramatically reduce the flow of plastic into the world’s oceans.
- In an effort to send a strong demand signal for recycled resin, P&G Dish brands – the world’s #1 selling handwashing liquid – announced it will continue to use 8,000 metric tonnes of recycled plastic per year in its transparent plastic bottles, using an average of 40% Post-Consumer Recycled plastic content across 481 million of our transparent dish care bottles globally. Given the size and scale of P&G Dish Care brands, these efforts will create a demand signal that will help support greater recovery of plastics, while enabling consumers to access recyclable and recycled products every day, without any compromises.
- The Port of Civitavecchia announced the continuation of the partnership with the start-up Emersum to collect 100 tons of plastic wastes from the traditional treatment line by 2019, to produce clothes for crew members, passengers of ships as well as port workers and passengers of ships. So far, a first swimwear collection has been sold and other 27,000 meters of green textile are ready to be used by the public and private sector for Green Procurement. For this initiative, EUR 2.5 million will be invested to produce a digital platform to manage and trace the recycling process, compute the environmental footprint and develop new supply chain for eco-products.
- Searious Business, a company that helps businesses to tackle plastic pollution, announced its commitment to design a fully-recyclable sofa by 2017 (in collaboration with Gispen). The sofa is to be made from more than 95% recycled plastics from left-over materials from the furniture industry and is to be designed and engineered to have the lowest possible impact on the environment. Each sofa will include at least 50 kilos of recycled plastics, and will be fully recyclable. Production of the first 200 sofas starts in October 2017.
- Sky, a major European media company, announced the launch of the Sky Ocean Rescue campaign in January 2017, aiming at raising awareness of how plastics and other pollution are affecting the oceans. Through their news reports, documentaries, social media and a UK tour by the giant whale “Plasticus”, Sky has engaged over 6 million people.
- Sky announced the removal of all single-use plastics from its operations, products and supply chain by 2020.
- Sky announced EUR 30 million over 5 years to create an Ocean Rescue Innovation Fund to develop ideas and technology to stop plastics entering the ocean.
- The Surfrider Foundation Europe announced the launch of the #ResetyourHabit campaign. The initiative aims at creating awareness on the impact of single-use water plastic bottles and inspiring people to change their habits by using reusable gourds and canteens; industries to change the design of beverage bottles by preferring high-capacity and refillable containers; private companies and public institutions to use and promote tap water and water fountains.
- The Surfrider Foundation Europe, with the support of the Territorial Council of Guipúzcoa, AZTI Tecnalia and Rivages Pro Tech Research Centers, the Syndicat mixte Kosta Garbia, and the municipality of Biarritz, announced the launch of the LIFE LEMA project. The initiative will provide methodological guidance and intelligent tools to local authorities for the effective management of floating marine litter with a cross-border approach whilst promoting the diversification of fishing vessels’ economic activities. LIFE LEMA will run until 2019. It entails a total investment of EUR 2.1 million co-financed by the European Union.
- Think Beyond Plastic announced the launch, in partnership with UN Environment, of the world’s first student competition for solutions to the global problem of marine plastics (the 2017 Marine Plastics Innovation Challenge) which invites all university students to submit ideas in the fields of engineering, communications, economics and data modelling. Competition is accepting applications until November 20, 2017. Winners, which will be announced at Sixth International Marine Debris Conference, will gain entry into the Think Beyond Plastic annual acceleration program, which will provide mentoring and bridge to commercialization for winning ideas.
- Think Beyond Plastic announced a partnership with California State University at Monterey Bay to develop an Innovation Center with a budget EUR 4.25 million (USD 5 million) to accelerate commercialisation of research and innovation with a focus on plastic pollution. This hub will bring together innovators, entrepreneurs, scientists, engineers, businesses, investors and consumer advocates to facilitate a multidisciplinary approach to solving this complex problem. This center will offer growing access to material innovation space for development, characterisation and scalability testing by 2020.
- Unilever announced its commitment to help transform global plastic packaging material flows by: ensuring all of its plastic packaging is reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025; increasing its use of recycled plastic content in its packaging to at least 25% by 2025 (against a 2015 baseline); publishing the full “palette” of plastics materials used in its packaging by 2020 to help create a plastics protocol for the industry; and helping tackle the industry-wide sachet waste issue, by investing in proving, and then sharing with industry, a technical solution to recycle multi-layered sachets – CreaSolv®.
- Volvo Ocean Race announced that in its 2017-2018 edition single-use plastic consumption in Race Villages will be reduced by at least 80%, with the objective to ban it entirely from 2019-2020 edition. In addition, Volvo Ocean Race will raise awareness on ocean plastic pollution by advocating “Turn the Tide” message to 3 million visitors to its Host Cities globally; by promoting UN Environment’s “Turn the Tide on Plastic” campaign to its digital audience, including 1.2 million Facebook fans; by launching a dedicated “Turn the Tide on Plastic” sailing team with a powerful call to action via the Clean Seas programme; by using compelling storytelling and the race’s significant media power to amplify the campaign – with a minimum goal of 30% of external media articles mentioning its sustainability programme; and by developing an Education Programme for kids and teachers, with an initial delivery target of 25,000 students at Host Cities globally and online. Volvo Ocean Race will host 7 “Ocean Summits” by the June 2018, gathering more than 2,000 decision makers and influencers from business, government and science to make commitments to ocean health. Finally, Volvo Ocean race will contribute in 2017-2018 to ocean science by gathering data and monitoring micro plastic pollution on-board race boats.
- The Werner & Mertz Group, whose packaging is already hundred per cent recyclable, announced its commitment to use hundred per cent recycled plastic in at least 70 million bottles each year as of 2017, corresponding to sixty-five per cent of its entire annual bottle volume, aiming to go up to one hundred per cent for all its consumer goods packaging by 2025.
- The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), along with the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the International Fund for Animal Welfare, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Southall Environmental Associates and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), reaffirmed their commitment to develop noise reduction targets for individual noise sources. A Working Group will kick-off in 2018 to conduct a Situation Analysis on ocean noise, generating an inventory of primary sources, key industry actors, and best practices. Commitments will be finalised and submitted to the IUCN World Conservation Congress for endorsement as an IUCN Resolution in September 2020.
- Zero Waste Europe, a European network of NGOs working with 397 zero waste municipalities, announced the allocation of EUR 300,000 over the next three years to include other 20 cities into the network, thus reducing waste generation by 20% and increasing recycling by 40%.
- Zero Waste Europe, in collaboration with the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives in the Philippines and 9 other partners in South-East Asia, announced the allocation of EUR 300,000 to involve 16 cities in South East Asia to implement a zero waste strategy by 2020, preventing more than 868,000 tons of annual waste from entering the environment and including more than 173,000 tons annually from being released into the environment.
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