by InTrieste
A new report from the European Commission has revealed a significant drop in the presence of macro-litter on European coasts, marking a 29% reduction in waste between 2015 and 2021. The findings, released by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission, suggest that major efforts to address marine pollution are starting to yield positive results.
According to the report, titled “Trends in Macro Litter on European Coasts 2015-2021,” there was a striking decline in the volume of litter found on beaches across Europe. Data collected from 253 monitored beaches indicates that, in the 2020-2021 period, there was about one-third less litter compared to the 2015-2016 timeframe.
The report highlights specific categories of waste, showing a 40% reduction in single-use plastics over the six-year period. Additionally, fishing-related debris decreased by 20%, and plastic bags were also reduced by 20%. These findings underscore the effectiveness of both EU-wide legislation and national efforts to mitigate the environmental impact of plastic pollution.
However, the report also stresses that marine litter remains a significant issue, with some areas continuing to report high levels of waste. The European Union has committed to maintaining and strengthening these efforts through improved monitoring and further legislative measures.
Key to these developments is the European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet), a long-term service that collects and standardizes marine data, making it freely available for further research. Since 2017, Italy’s National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics (OGS) has played an important role in harmonizing and validating this data.
Despite progress, experts stress the importance of ongoing action to tackle marine pollution, emphasizing that additional measures are needed to sustain and accelerate these positive trends.
