1. Marine Litter – Introduction
MEDCIS, 20 February, 2018, Athens, Greece
medcis.eu

2. Plastics as a global problem
Plastics production has surged over the past 50 years, from 15 million tonnes in 1964 to 311 million tonnes in 2014, and is expected to double again over the next 20 years;
million tonnes of plastic litter that end up in the oceans every year.
Plastic is an important material in our economy and daily lives. It has multiple functions that help tackle a number of the challenges facing our society. Light and innovative materials in cars, medicine, phones, computers, construction, food industry, e.g. in packaging, plastics help ensure food safety and reduce food waste. We just cannot live without it!
However, too often the way plastics are currently produced, used and discarded ending up in the environment. Million tonnes of plastic litter that end up in the oceans every year, so there is an urgent need to tackle the environmental problems that today cast a long shadow over the production, use and consumption of plastics.
There are many innovation and improvement efforts that show potential

3. Marine Litter – General Introduction
Marine litter -any persistent, manufactured or processed solid material discarded, disposed of or abandoned in the marine and coastal environment;
ML are globally acknowledged as a major societal challenge of our times due to its significant environmental, economic, social, political and cultural implications;
(Galgani et al., 2010, Sutherland et al., 2010 ).
Marine litter is a complex mand multi-dimensional problem with significant implications for the marine and coastal environment and human activities.

4. Plastic waste in marine environment
Marine litter can be transported across long distances and remain in the marine environment for a long time;
physical changes: degradation and fragmentation of plastics (microplastics, nanoplastics);
biological and chemical decomposition: release of hazardous chemicals (additives);
binding of organic pollutants.
Because of its persistent nature, ML can be transported across long distances and remain in the marine environment for an undetermined length of time often making its geographic, sectorial and temporal origin difficult to assess.

5. Marine Litter in the Mediterranean
Marine litter related information in the Mediterranean, remains limited, inconsistent and fragmented (Vlachogianni, 2017);
it is widely accepted that the Mediterranean is one of the most affected seas by marine litter worldwide (Cozar et al., 2015; UNEP/MAP 2015);
basin’s limited exchanges with other oceans, its densely populated coasts, highly developed tourism, 30% of the world’s maritime traffic passing through and various additional inputs of litter from rivers and very urbanized areas (UNEP, 2015).

6. Marine litter data in the Mediterranean
The issue of marine litter and related information on the amounts and types in the Mediterranean is rather complicated, as it is addressed principally by scientific institutions and sub-regional and local authorities in most countries on the one hand and by competent NGOs;
a relatively systematic and reliable source for amounts and types of litter is usually the existing NGO initiatives (MIO-ECSDE, Marine LitterWatch (EEA), Legambiente, Surfrider Foundation Europe, etc.) in the region.

7. Most frequent marine litter items in the Mediterranean
Dominating materials are plastic, such as plastic bags, food containers, plastic caps/lids, cotton bud sticks, mussel nets, etc.
TG ML General Code
Material type
Litter type
G79
Artificial polymer materials
Plastic pieces 2.5 cm > < 50 cm
G82
Polystyrene pieces 2.5 cm > < 50 cm
G95
Cotton bud sticks
G21
Plastic caps/lids from drinks
G27
Cigarette butts and filters
G23
Plastic caps/lids unidentified
G45
Mussel nets, Oyster nets
G30
Crisps packets/sweets wrappers
G208
Glass/ceramics
Glass or ceramic fragments >2.5 cm
G124
Other plastic/polystyrene items (identifiable)

8. Marine litter impacts
Marine litter poses to wildlife and ecosystems, with impacts:
plastics threaten the living beings
entanglement, ingestion;
reduce biodiversity;
transfer/transport of non-native species;
release of hazardous chemicals into water (additives)
– carcinogenic, hormonal/endocrine disruptors
binding of organic pollutants (from agriculture and industry, DDT) – entering the food chain.

9. Sources of litter pollution
Fisheries and aquaculture
Urban areas
Shipping
Litter enters the ocean from diverse point and diffuse sources, which can be both land and ocean-based. It can also be transported over long distances before being deposited onto shorelines or settling on the bottom of the oceans and seas.
Determination of sources and activities, help us better understand background of litter entering marine environment.
Sewage outlets
Tourism and recreation
Riverine input

10. Microplastics Plastic particles smaller than 5 mm
Primary microplastics
Industrial pelletes
Use in cosmetics as abrazives
Secondary microplastics
Degradation and fragmentation
Microplastics are widely dispersed in the environment and are present in the water column, on beaches and on the seabed
Negative impacts: ingestion, physical damage to the gastrointestinal tract, binding and transfer of POPs, etc.

11. Measures on Marine litter
support the approach of prioritizing the implementation of tailor-made measures to tackle a set of priority litter items (most frequent litter items);
importance of the fisheries and aquaculture sector with regards to marine litter;
targeted measures e.g „The banning of plastic bags or plastic bag levies and management of styrofoam fish boxes“ are expected to have a direct effect on minimizing litter in the marine environment (Vlachogianni, 2017);
management measures should focus on the one hand on awareness raising of consumers and citizens and on the other on fully implementing circular economy schemes (e.g. promoting eco-design) and/or policies that will drastically reduce the use of such items (e.g. banning or putting a levy on single use plastic bags) (Vlachogianni, 2017).

12. How can WE prevent/reduce?
What can WE do?
How can WE prevent/reduce?
Prevent litter entering the enviroment at it source (reduce leakage into natural systems and associated negative impacts)
Reduce/Reuse/Recycle
RETHINK and RESHAPE
education and raising awareness
cooperation by all key players, from plastics producers to recyclers, retailers and consumers
development and adoption of global plastic packaging design guidelines

13. Thank You!