UNEP Head Calls for World-Wide Ban on Pointless Thin-Film Plastic Bags

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 WASHINGTON DC/NAIROBI, 8 June 2009 – 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 Ocean Conservancy.

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.

“This report is a reminder that carelessness and indifference is proving
deadly for our oceans and its inhabitants”, says Philippe Cousteau, CEO of
EarthEcho International and Ocean Conservancy board member.  “Offered here
are more than mere facts and figures. The time for action is now, and true
change will require taking a bold and courageous stand. There are solutions
that everyone, everywhere in the world, can adopt to make a positive
difference for our water planet.”

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 per cent 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.  Global plastic production is now estimated at 225 million
tons per year.

Plastics can be mistaken as food by numerous animals, including marine
mammals, birds, fish and turtles. Sea turtles, in particular, may confuse
floating plastic bags with jellyfish, one of their favorite treats.

A five-year survey of fulmars found in the North Sea region found that 95
percent of these seabirds contained plastic in their stomachs. Studies of
the Northeast Atlantic plankton have found plastic in samples dating back
to the 1960s, with a significant increase in abundance in time.

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 per cent 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 preventable.”

The two sides of tourism

The tourism and recreation sector has a significant impact on the state of
seas and coastlines around the world:

•            In some tourist areas of the Mediterranean, more than 75 per
              cent of the annual waste production is generated during the summer season.
•            In Thailand, it is recognized that marine litter affects
              tourism – a high-value industry for the entire region.
•            Shoreline activities account for 58 per cent of the marine
             litter in the Baltic Sea region, and almost half in Japan and the Republic
             of Korea.
•            In Jordan, the major source of marine litter is recreational
             and leisure usage contributing up to 67 per cent of the total discharge,
             while shipping and port activities contribute around 30 per cent and the
             fishing industry 3 per cent only.
•            Tourism is the third most important source of revenue in
             Egypt, while one-fifth of the country’s hotels are located along the Red
             Sea coast.

If well-managed, tourism can contribute to maintaining the pristine
appearance of beaches and waters, as demonstrated by Seychelles and
Mauritius which contribute almost nothing to the marine litter load in the
Western Indian Ocean despite being popular tourism destinations.

However, ocean winds and currents may carry unwanted marine rubbish far
from its point of origin. For instance, Seychelles have reported an
accumulation of rubbish on the east coast of the Mahé Island during the
southeast monsoon, while items dumped off the west Australian coast have
been retrieved on the east coast of South Africa.

From source to sea

Land-based activities are the largest source of marine litter. In
Australia, surveys near cities indicate up to 80 percent of marine litter
originating from land-based sources, with sea-based sources in the lead in
more remote areas.

The problem of marine litter is likely to be particularly severe in the
East Asian Seas region – home to 1.8 billion people, 60 per cent of who
live in coastal areas – which is experiencing simultaneous growth in both
shipping activity and industrial and urban development.

Oil-based economics and an associated construction boom in the coastal
areas of the Caspian Sea have made marine litter a new and emerging concern
in the littoral States, particularly Iran and Azerbaijan.

In South Asia, the growing ship-breaking industry has become a major source
of marine debris and heavy metal pollution to the adjoining coastal areas.

In Gujarat, India – one of the largest and busiest ship-breaking yards in
the world – operations are carried out on a 10-kilometer stretch on the
beaches of Alang, generating peeled-off paint chips, iron scrap and other
types of non-degradable solid waste often making its way into the sea.

The South-East Pacific has important ports and intense maritime traffic. In
the five littoral countries, wastes from marine-based sources have been
reported, but there is very little information regarding the origin and
volume of these wastes. According to one estimate, the Colombian fishing
fleet generates approximately 273 tons of marine litter each year.

The lack of adequate solid waste management facilities results in hazardous
wastes entering the waters of the Western Indian Ocean, South Asian Seas
and southern Black Sea, among others.

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 per cent 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 $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 marine litter.

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 $500,000 (about €336,600 or £268,719) 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.