European Parliament Calls for an Essential 50% Cut in Marine Litter
Today, the European Parliament (EP) voted in Plenary in Strasbourg on the Pietikainen report, a circular economy report calling on the European Commission to increase its headline marine litter reduction target from 30% to 50% reduction by 2025. The report sends a vital message to the European Commission and Europe as a whole that the European Parliament is in favour of the circular economy as a way to greater resource security, increased jobs and growth, and to tackle marine litter.
Project AWARE joined Seas At Risk and its members in urging Members of the European Parliament to support this report. We're delighted that our collective voice was heard today when the Plenary adopted the call for a 50% marine litter reduction target by 2025 rather than the original 'headline' reduction target of 30% by 2030 contained in the Commission' Communication. Even though the target isn't legally binding, it sends an important signal to policy makers that 30% is too low considering the seriousness of the marine debris problem.
Emma Priestland, Marine Litter Policy Officer at Seas At Risk said "A 50% reduction target will help drive the message home that waste is to be prevented, and treated as a valuable resource instead of being carelessly discarded and ending up in the oceans. Today the Parliament has sent a positive signal to the European Commission that MEPs support the Circular Economy and ambitious measures to tackle marine litter.”
The only piece of EU legislation that currently deals with marine litter is the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, but implementation to date has been weak. Member states are struggling to deal with the primary source of marine litter – our over-consumption and careless use of resources. The circular economy aims to address that, replacing resource extraction and subsequent dumping with greater reclamation, reuse, reparability and recycling. It provides a win for the ocean as well as a better model from growth and jobs in the future.
The revised, "more ambitious" Circular Economy Package, including the legislative review of recycling targets is expected at the end of this year. We’re hopeful it will contain the necessary measures to drive the transition to a zero-waste society and ultimately an end to marine litter.
