New Report Boasts Remarkable Progress in Efforts to Curb Marine Litter

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The recent report published by the Global Plastics Alliance (GPA) indicates significant progress by global plastics industry in its fight to reduce marine litter. The 4^th Progress Report details the various commitments made by the industry towards achieving the goal and details the current status of the commitments, by explaining the progress made against them.

According to the report, nearly 355 projects have been planned, underway or completed, as of end-December 2017. The number of projects have registered notable jump from around 260 reported during the halfway mark of the previous year. Since 2011, the year in which industry associations joined together to make a Global Declaration, the number of projects has increased by more than three and a half times. It must be noted that the above number covers projects undertaken by nearly 74 trade associations in nearly 40 countries across the globe. The projects include educational campaigns, beach cleanups, facility expansions etc.

ALSO READ: Regions With Plastic Bag Bans Produced Much Lesser Volume of Litter

Washington-based American Chemistry Council (ACC) noted that the latest report highlights the progress made by the global plastics industry to offer solutions to ocean plastic problem in every region of the world. ACC also noted that the signatories of the Global Declaration have been highly successful in projecting marine litter as a global problem affecting entire mankind and marine life. Meantime, PlasticsEurope called upon the stakeholders to focus on long-term sustainable solutions to tackle the problem of marine litter. The collaboration must continue to develop and implement programs that address the issue at source, it said.

It must be noted that the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA) Task Force had recently published a report highlighting the seriousness of marine litter issue.

The Global Declaration (The Declaration of the Global Plastics Associations for Solutions on Marine Litter) mainly focuses on six key areas- education, research, public policy, sharing best practices, plastics recycling/recovery and plastic pellet containment.