From discarded fishing gear to plastic bags to cigarette butts, a
growing tide of marine litter is harming oceans and beaches worldwide,
says a new report.
The report, the first-ever attempt to take stock of the marine
litter situation in the 12 major regional seas around the world, was
launched on World Oceans Day by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and
Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive
Director, said: "Marine litter is symptomatic of a wider malaise:
namely the wasteful use and persistent poor management of natural
resources. The plastic bags, bottles and other debris piling up in the
oceans and seas could be dramatically reduced by improved waste
reduction, waste management and recycling initiatives."
"Some of the litter, like thin film single use plastic bags
which choke marine life, should be banned or phased-out rapidly
everywhere-there is simply zero justification for manufacturing them
anymore, anywhere. Other waste can be cut by boosting public awareness,
and proposing an array of economic incentives and smart market
mechanisms that tip the balance in favor of recycling, reducing or
re-use rather than dumping into the sea," he said.
The report's findings indicate that despite several
international, regional and national efforts to reverse marine
pollution, alarming quantities of rubbish thrown out to sea continue to
endanger people's safety and health, entrap wildlife, damage nautical
equipment and deface coastal areas around the world.
Plastics and cigarettes top the "Top Ten" of marine debris
Plastic--especially plastic bags and PET bottles--is the most
pervasive type of marine litter around the world, accounting for over
80% of all rubbish collected in several of the regional seas assessed.
Plastic debris is accumulating in terrestrial and marine
environments worldwide, slowly breaking down into tinier and tinier
pieces that can be consumed by the smallest marine life at the base of
the food web. Plastics collect toxic compounds that then can get into
the bodies of organisms that eat the plastic.
Smoking-related activities also receive top rankings when it
comes to sources of marine litter. Cigarette filters, tobacco packets
and cigar tips make up 40% of all marine litter in the Mediterranean,
while in Ecuador smoking-related rubbish accounted for over half of the
total coastal litter 'catch' in 2005.
"The ocean is our life support system--it provides much of the
oxygen we breathe, the food we eat and climate we need to survive-yet
trash continues to threaten its health," said Vikki Spruill President
and CEO of Ocean Conservancy. "The impact of marine debris is clear and
dramatic; dead and injured wildlife, littered beaches that discourage
tourism and choked ocean ecosystems. Marine debris is one of the most
widespread pollution threats facing our ocean and it is completely
Land-based activities are the largest source of marine litter.
In Australia, surveys near cities indicate up to 80% of marine litter
originating from land-based sources, with sea-based sources in the lead
in more remote areas.
The cost of rubbish
Unsightly and unsafe, marine litter can cause serious economic
losses through damaged boats, fishing gear, contamination of tourism
and agriculture facilities. For example, the cost of cleaning the
beaches in Bohuslän on the west coast of Sweden in just one year was at
least 10 million SEK or $1,550,200.
In the UK, Shetland fishermen had reported that 92% of them had
recurring problems with debris in nets, and it has been estimated that
each boat could lose between $10,500 and $53,300 per year due to the
presence of marine litter. The cost to the local industry could then be
as high as $4,300,000.
The municipality of Ventanillas in Peru has calculated that it
would have to invest around US$400,000 a year in order to clean its
coastline, while its annual budget for cleaning all public areas is
only half that amount.
At the same time, flexible and economic incentives and
deterrents need to be put in place to address the growing problem of
At the moment, port authorities sometimes unwillingly discourage ships
from bringing their galley waste back to shore--as seen in the East
Asian Seas region where ships are charged on a fee-for-service (user
pays) basis. Some vessel operators therefore opt to dispose of their
garbage at sea--at no cost.
Adopting a 'no special fee' approach to port waste reception
facilities, as pioneered in the Baltic Sea region, can substantially
decrease the number of operational and illegal discharges and help
prevent pollution from ships to the marine environment.
The level of fines for ocean dumping also needs to be reviewed
to make them a sufficient deterrent. For example in the US the cruise
ship Regal Princess was fined US$500,000 in 1993 for dumping 20 bags of
garbage in to the sea. Fines of this level would act as a genuine
deterrent to dumping of marine litter.
Finally, income-generating opportunities linked to collecting
and recycling marine litter can make a big difference in some of the
world's poorer regions. For instance, in East Africa small-scale
projects that create jobs and reduce the levels of marine rubbish need
to be further promoted.
SB.com editor Bart King recently wrote about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.